Health Dept. Reports Another 22K Utahns Vaccinated; 5 More Deaths
Feb 13, 2021, 12:52 PM | Updated: 1:35 pm
(Utah County Health Department)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Officials from the Utah Department of Health reported another 22,000 residents vaccinated against the coronavirus in the last day. Less than 1,000 new cases of the virus were reported, along with five additional deaths.
The number of people hospitalized has also dropped below 300.
The deaths bring the total number of Utahns lost to COVID-19 to 1,790 – 67 more in the last week. Health officials said the deaths reported reflected the numbers of people who died specifically because of the effects of the coronavirus disease.
“The Office of the Medical Examiner conducts thorough investigations of all potential COVID-related deaths. These investigations can take several weeks to complete,” officials said.
Testing
The Department of Health reported a total of 2,117,562 Utah residents have been tested for the novel coronavirus – an increase of 6,803 new cases in the last day and 47,372 in the last week.
Officials reported 360,584 residents have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began – an increase of 943 cases in the last day. Of those tested since Friday, 13.7 percent were positive. There has been an increase of 8,095 in the last week.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 987 per day – down nearly 200 since last Saturday. The rolling seven-day average for percent of positive laboratory tests was 14.4 percent.
Vaccinations
The vaccine has been administered to 358,882 people in Utah, including health workers, educators and residents age 70 and older.
The state has administered over 512,189 first and second vaccinations. Of those vaccinated, 153,307 people have been fully immunized with both doses.
According to numbers reported by the health department, 22,473 vaccines have been administered since Friday, and 108,104 in the last week.
The number of vaccines delivered to the state was just over 604,010.
Hospitalizations
The health department reported 298 people were being treated for COVID-19 in Utah hospitals. Total hospitalizations since the pandemic began was 14,151 people.
Utah officials said 80.6 percent of the 537 ICU beds across the state were full. Of those, 116 were being used by patients confirmed to have COVID-19. An additional 35 patients inn ICU beds were suspected of having COVID-19, pending additional testing.
The remaining ICU beds were used by patients with other critical medical conditions. Hospital officials have said, in addition to the beds nearing capacity, there was staffing for around 85 percent of those beds.
Deaths
An additional five Utahns have died in the last day, according to the Utah Department of Health. The latest COVID-19 deaths included two women and three men.
Three were hospitalized when they succumbed to the disease.
There have been 1,790 total deaths of residents from the disease in the Beehive State since the pandemic began – an increase of 57 in the last week.
Iron County
Officials reported the death of an Iron County man between the ages of 65 to 84. His identity was not released.
The man’s death brought the total in the county to 28, and the total in the area covered by the Southwest Utah Health Department to 214. The health district also includes Beaver, Garfield, Kane and Washington counties.
Salt Lake County
A Salt Lake County man between the ages of 45 to 64 was not hospitalized at time of his death, officials said.
There have been 716 COVID-19 deaths in the county.
Tooele County
Officials reported the death of a Tooele County woman between the ages of 65 to 84. Her death brought the total in the county to 30.
Utah County
One woman and one man from Utah County have died of COVID-19 in the last day, according the health officials.
The woman was between the ages of 45 to 64 and hospitalized when she died. The man was older than the age of 85 and not hospitalized.
The county has reported 306 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
National/Worldwide Numbers
There have been nearly 27.5 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States – with around 1 million new cases in the last week. Over 481,000 Americans have died of the disease, according to numbers compiled by the Coronavirus Resource Center at John Hopkins University.
Across the globe there have been over 108.3 million cases and 2,312,845 deaths – over 75,000 in the last week.
With just 4 percent of the worldwide population, the United States has accounted for 25.4 percent of the global cases and 20.2 percent of the deaths since the pandemic began.
The first US case was confirmed on January 21, 2020. The number of new cases in the nation has skyrocketed in November, with a spike significantly higher than any other country.
During the 2019-2020 flu season, an estimates 38 million people caught the influenza virus, requiring 18 million doctor visits and causing 22,000 deaths, according for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Around 35,900 deaths have been attributed to the flu annually, going back to the 2010-2011 flu season. Only twice during that time has the number of deaths exceeded 50,000 – once in 2014-2015, when there were 51,000 deaths, and again in 2017-2018, when there were an estimates 61,000 deaths.
Coronavirus Resources
Have you or a family member been affected by coronavirus issues in Utah? KSL wants to hear from you. Contact KSL by emailing social@ksl.com.
What is COVID-19? Here’s What You Need To Know To Stay Healthy: ksltv.com/432037/what-is-covid-19/
Latest coronavirus stories from KSL can be found at ksltv.com/coronavirus/.
Where in the world has the coronavirus already appeared? See the map: ksltv.com/?p=432035
Your Life Your Health: How can parents prepare their home, children against coronavirus: ksltv.com/?p=432060
How do I prevent it?
The CDC has some simple recommendations, most of which are the same for preventing other respiratory illnesses or the flu:
- Avoid close contact with people who may be sick
- Avoid touching your face
- Stay home when you are sick
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and then throw the tissue in the trash
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. Always wash your hands with soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.
- If soap and water is not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
The CDC does not recommend wearing a face mask respirator to protect yourself from coronavirus unless a healthcare professional recommends it.