Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's number of COVID-19 cases increased by 918 on Tuesday, with 10 more deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The health department estimates there are now 30,190 active cases of the disease in Utah.
The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now at 1,095, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that time period reported through the "people over people" method is now 15.5%. The rolling seven-day average positive test rate reported through the "test over test" method is 7.2% Tuesday.
The "people over people" method is calculated by dividing the number of people who have tested positive for the disease by the total number of people tested. The health department has been using this method to calculate that statistic since the beginning of the pandemic.
Monday, the agency began reporting a different method of calculating the rolling seven-day positive test average, known as the "test over test" method, which is calculated by dividing the total number of positive tests by the total number of tests administered. This method accounts for repeat positive and negative COVID-19 tests; the "people over people" method does not.
The "people over people" method is biased higher, while the "test over test" method is biased lower, according to health officials. The true average is thought to be somewhere in the middle, according to health department state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn. The health department will continue to provide both reporting methods daily, which will help better compare Utah's pandemic to that of other states, health officials say.
There are 319 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 124 in intensive care, state data shows. About 73% of intensive care unit beds in Utah are filled Tuesday, including about 77% of ICU beds in the state's 16 referral hospitals. About 46% of non-ICU hospital beds in Utah are occupied.
A total of 425,698 vaccines have been administered in the state, up from 417,024 Monday. Of those, 108,095 are second doses of the vaccine, according to the health department.
The new numbers indicate a 0.3% increase in positive cases since Monday. Of the 2,085,821 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 17.1% have tested positive for the disease. The total number of tests conducted increased by 18,409 as of Tuesday, and 6,133 of those were tests of people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19, according to state data.
The 10 deaths reported Tuesday were:
- An Iron County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Salt Lake County man who was over the age of 85 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Salt Lake County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when he died
- A Salt Lake County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Sanpete County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when she died
- A Utah County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when she died
- A Weber County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when she died
- A Weber County woman who was between the ages of 45 and 64 and was hospitalized when she died
- A Weber County man who was over the age of 85 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Weber County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when he died
Tuesday's totals give Utah 356,040 total confirmed cases, with 13,950 total hospitalizations and 1,748 total deaths from the disease. An estimated 324,102 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered.
There is not a COVID-19 news conference scheduled for Tuesday. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is scheduled to provide a pandemic update at a media briefing at 11 a.m. Thursday.
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.
