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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Department of Health reported 2,267 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and 14 deaths. School-aged children account for 480 of the new cases.
Since Wednesday, 216 children between age 5 and 10 have tested positive for COVID-19, along with 129 children between 11 and 13 and 135 children between 14 and 17.
Health officials reported 3,794,735 total vaccines administered, an additional 11,282 vaccines since Wednesday. The Utah Department of Health said that 66.3% of eligible Utahns have received one dose of the vaccine, and 59.5% of eligible Utahns are fully vaccinated. Utah health officials noted that the significant decrease in the percentages is due to the expansion of vaccine eligibility to children between ages 5 and 11.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests is 1,529, with a "person over person" positive rate of 17.9%. Each county except Daggett County in northeastern Utah currently has a "very high rate" of COVID-19 in the last 14 days, with more than 200 reported cases. Daggett County has reported between one and five cases.
State health officials reported that there are 76 new hospitalizations due to COVID-19, with 572 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19.
Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital announced on Thursday that it is beginning to delay any non-urgent procedures and surgeries due to a high number of patients, including COVID-19 patients.
A news release from the hospital explained that there has been an influx in patients with respiratory illnesses like respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and trauma injuries.
"Our patient volumes now exceed typical winter surge levels, which is unprecedented. Our typical in-patient volume this time of year is about 180 patients. In peak respiratory season, we average 230 patients. Yesterday, we cared for 249 hospitalized patients," said Dustin Lipson, administrator of Primary Children's Hospital, in the news release.
He said they are contacting the families of patients and rescheduling any surgeries or procedures that are not urgent so that they can send caregivers to other areas of the hospital to best meet the needs of patients.
The news release said that "patient safety is the main concern and focus" and that the changes are to ensure patients and caregivers are able to be safe and well.
In the last 28 days, people who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine are 16.4 times more likely to die from COVID-19, 11.1 times more likely to be hospitalized due to COVID-19, and 4.9 times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 than those who have received the vaccine.
The federal mandate for large companies to require COVID-19 vaccines or frequent testing was formalized on Thursday.
Since the start of the pandemic, 3,276 Utahns have died from COVID-19. Of the 14 people who the Utah Department of Heath reported died from COVID-19 in Thursday's report, half of them were between ages 45 and 64, one was over 85, and the rest were between 65 and 84. One of the individuals was not hospitalized, and another was in a long-term care facility.
The latest deaths include:
- Two Cache County men between the ages of 65 and 84, who were both hospitalized when they died.
- A Uintah County man, 45-64, hospitalized.
- A Carbon County man, 45-64, hospitalized.
- A Utah County woman, 65-84, hospitalized.
- A Uintah County woman, 65-84, hospitalized.
- A Utah County man, 65-84, hospitalized.
- A Salt Lake County woman, 65-84, long-term care facility resident.
- An Iron County man, 45-64, hospitalized.
- An Emery County man, 45-64, hospitalized.
- A Salt Lake County man, 45-64, hospitalized.
- A Beaver County woman, 45-64, hospitalized.
- A Salt Lake County man, over 85, hospitalized.
- A Salt Lake County man, 45-64, not hospitalized.
