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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's number of COVID-19 cases has increased by 1,591 on Wednesday, with 12 more deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
Three of those deaths occurred before January 14 but were still being investigated by the Utah state medical examiner's office, according to the health department.
There are now an estimated 35,431 active COVID-19 cases in Utah, according to the health department. The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now at 1,334, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that time period is now 16.6%.
There are now 352 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 119 in intensive care, state data shows. About 75% of intensive care unit beds in Utah are filled as of Wednesday, including about 79% of ICU beds in the state's 16 referral hospitals. About 54% of non-ICU hospital beds are filled, according to the health department.
A total of 345,179 vaccines have been administered in the state, up from 325,457 Tuesday. Of those, 77,824 are second doses of the vaccine, according to state data.
The new numbers indicate a 0.5% increase in positive cases since Tuesday. Of the 2,044,811 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 17.1% have tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of tests conducted increased by 16,507 as of Wednesday, and 9,149 of those were tests of people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19.
The 12 deaths reported Wednesday were:
- Two Salt Lake County men who were between the ages of 65 and 84 and were hospitalized when they died
- Two Salt Lake County men who were between the ages of 45 and 64 and were hospitalized when they died
- A Utah County man who was between the ages of 45 and 64 and was hospitalized when he died
- A Utah County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when he died
- A Weber County man who was over the age of 85 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Box Elder County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when she died
- A Davis County woman who was over the age of 85 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Davis County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Salt Lake County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Washington County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
Wednesday's totals give Utah 350,000 total confirmed cases, with 13,648 total hospitalizations and 1,697 total deaths from the disease. A total of 312,872 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered, according to the health department.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is scheduled to provide a pandemic update at 11 a.m. Thursday, according to the governor's office.
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.
