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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's number of COVID-19 cases increased by 336 on Friday, with one more death and 17,583 vaccinations reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The health department estimates there are 7,623 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah. The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now at 322, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that time period calculated with the "people over people" method is now 6.6%. The positive test rate per day for that time period calculated with the "test over test" method is now 3.6%.
There are 147 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 46 in intensive care, state data shows. About 71% of all intensive care unit beds in Utah are now occupied, including about 73% of ICU beds in the state's 16 referral hospitals, according to the health department. About 57% of non-ICU hospital beds are now occupied in the state, the health department reported.
A total of 2,372,916 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, up from 2,355,333 Thursday. A total of 1,377,940 Utahns have now received at least a first vaccine dose, and 1,095,318 are fully vaccinated. A total of 2,896,223 vaccine doses have been shipped to Utah so far.
Friday's update shows that 43% of Utah's total population has now received at least a first vaccine dose, and 34.2% of the population is fully vaccinated. Among Utahns age 12 and older who are currently eligible to receive the vaccine, about 53.2% have received at least a first dose and 42.3% are fully vaccinated.
The new numbers indicate a 0.08% increase in positive cases since Thursday. Of the 2,629,251 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 15.3% have tested positive for the disease. The number of total tests conducted in Utah since the pandemic began is now 4,794,803, up 12,892 since Thursday. Of those, 5,668 were tests of people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19.
The death reported Friday was a Weber County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was not hospitalized when she died. The woman died before April 14, but her death was still being investigated by state medical examiners, the health department said.
Friday's totals give Utah 402,005 total confirmed cases, with 16,492 total hospitalizations and 2,256 total deaths from the disease. An estimated 392,126 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered, the health department reported.
Utah, Salt Lake City modify mask mandates
The state of Utah and Salt Lake City have modified mask mandates relating to government-owned facilities and their employees.
Utah is ending a mask mandate for all state-owned facilities about two weeks earlier than originally planned.
State employees will no longer be required to wear masks at work starting Saturday, according to a memo from Gov. Spencer Cox's office sent to all state employees this week. The mandate was originally slated to end March 31.
The memo said that employees can continue to wear masks after Saturday.
"We emphasize that the termination of the mask requirement is not a prohibition against mask wearing," the memo says. "Mask wearing continues to offer health benefits and is left to the discretion of each individual employee. Employees should respect the decisions of others regarding masks."
The governor's office also recommended in the memo that state agencies continue to post signs at their buildings notifying people of the symptoms of COVID-19 and recommending that people who have any symptoms should stay home.
The memo also said state employees should get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible and should continue taking health and safety precautions to prevent the spread of the disease.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson also amended a mask mandate for city facilities on Friday.
People who are fully vaccinated will no longer need to wear masks in city buildings, according to news releases from the mayors' office. City and county employees who are fully vaccinated will be encouraged to continue wearing masks while in public spaces or when socially distancing isn't possible, but it won't be required.
Unvaccinated employees will still need to wear masks in city and county facilities and all other settings while on the job, and unvaccinated visitors will be asked to wear masks while they are in city buildings.
Since the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced updated mask guidelines that no longer recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks in most settings, Mendenhall said the city's mandate needed an update.
"Yesterday's CDC announcement that vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks is long-awaited news for many. Epidemiologists and CDC recommendations will always guide our City's response to this pandemic, so in accordance with the recommendations today, I will modify my executive order to make it clear that fully vaccinated individuals will be exempt from wearing masks in City facilities," Mendenhall said.
Wilson said that the update signaled progress in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This has been a journey for our community. It's been a challenge. It's great that today the sun is shining and we're seeing a lot of progress," said Wilson at a Friday press conference.
She emphasized the importance of vaccinations and encouraged residents to be vaccinated, if possible. Wilson said that the county is continuing to conduct outreach programs and clinics to help vaccinate more vulnerable populations.
Wrapping up the press conference, Wilson told residents of the community to be courteous to one another and businesses regarding masks and vaccinations.
"What we don't want is vaccine wars," said Wilson. "Half of us are protected, partially at least, half of us are not. That means we have to have respect and concern and honor in this community one person to the next."
Methodology
See more details about KSL.com's COVID-19 data and methodology by clicking this link.
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.
Contributing: Ashley Fredde, KSL.com
