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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Health Sunday is reporting 796 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths in the state, numbers suppressed by limited Christmas-week testing but nonetheless among the lowest seen in Utah in months.
That brings Utah to 264,874 total confirmed cases and 1,214 deaths since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Only 2,663 more Utahns were tested for the virus in Sunday's report, the health department reported. Last week, Intermountain Healthcare infectious disease physician Dr. Eddie Stenehjem told KSL.com he anticipates testing volumes will increase again after the New Year's Day holiday.
"Our (positive) test percentage is high," he said, "which is meaning that we're likely missing a lot of active cases that are not getting tested."
Over the past week, the state is averaging 1,980 new confirmed cases per day and a positive test rate of 24.3%.
There are currently 474 Utahns reportedly hospitalized due to COVID-19, including 166 in intensive care, bringing the total number of Utahns hospitalized for it this year to 10,584. The utilization of Utah's "referral center" ICUs, which refers to the 16 hospitals with the best capacity to care for coronavirus patients, is now at a still-high but noncritical 83%; that capacity had been reported at more than 100% in recent weeks.
The health department says that the state has now administered 16,992 doses of a coronavirus vaccine. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, approved for widespread use by federal agencies, require multiple doses.
In an email, the health department said the two deaths reported Sunday were both Salt Lake County women who were hospitalized when they died. One was between the ages of 45 and 64, and the other was between 65 and 84.
Contributing: Carter Williams, KSL.com
This week
- Saturday: 3,489 COVID-19 cases reported Saturday in Utah, some from Christmas Day
- Thursday: 2,892 more COVID-19 cases, 9 deaths reported Christmas Eve in Utah
- Wednesday: 2,612 more COVID-19 cases, 24 deaths reported Wednesday in Utah
- Tuesday: 2,302 more COVID-19 cases, 12 deaths reported Tuesday in Utah
- Monday: 1,819 more COVID-19 cases, 6 deaths reported Monday in Utah
Methodology:
Test results now include data from PCR tests and antigen tests. Positive COVID-19 test results are reported to the health department immediately after they are confirmed, but negative test results may not be reported for 24 to 72 hours.
The total number of cases reported by the Utah Department of Health each day includes all cases of COVID-19 since Utah's outbreak began, including those who are currently infected, those who have recovered from the disease, and those who have died.
Recovered cases are defined as anyone who was diagnosed with COVID-19 three or more weeks ago and has not died.
Referral hospitals are the 16 Utah hospitals with the capability to provide the best COVID-19 health care.
Deaths reported by the state typically occurred two to seven days prior to when they are reported, according to the health department. Some deaths may be from even further back, especially if the person is from Utah but has died in another state.
The health department reports both confirmed and probable COVID-19 case deaths per the case definition outlined by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. The death counts are subject to change as case investigations are completed.
For deaths that are reported as COVID-19 deaths, the person would not have died if they did not have COVID-19, according to the health department.
Data included in this story primarily reflects the state of Utah as a whole. For more localized data, visit your local health district's website.
More information about Utah's health guidance levels is available at coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-health-guidance-levels.
Information is from the Utah Department of Health and coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts. For more information on how the Utah Department of Health compiles and reports COVID-19 data, visit coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts and scroll down to the "Data Notes" section at the bottom of the page.
