Utah Reports 418 New COVID Cases, Six Deaths With K-12 Mask Mandate Set To End
May 13, 2021, 11:38 AM | Updated: 11:41 am
(Photo by Justin Tallis - Pool / Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Officials with the Utah Department of Health on Thursday said six more Utahns have died from COVID-19 while another 418 residents have tested positive for the virus.
UDOH said three of the six deaths occurred before April 13.
Currently, 152 people are hospitalized with the virus and an additional 13,602 vaccines have been administered, bringing the state’s total to more than 2.35 million.
UDOH also said over 1 million Utahns are now fully vaccinated.
For more information, visit coronavirus.utah.gov.
Gov. Spencer Cox announced the statewide mask mandate for K-12 schools will end beginning the Monday of a school’s final week.
Testing
UDOH reports 2,623,583 people have been tested — 6,562 more than Wednesday. Of those, 401,669 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19 — an increase of 418 new cases.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 328 — up slightly from 325 on Wednesday but stable when compared to last week’s data.
The rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “people over people” remained steady at 6.7% while the rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “tests over tests” remained at 3.6%.
Vaccinations
The state has administered 2,355,333 vaccines in total, which is an increase of 14,578 over Wednesday’s numbers. As of Thursday, over 1.37 million Utahns had received at least one dose of a vaccine and over 1.08 million Utahns had been fully vaccinated.
Over 2.85 million vaccines have been delivered to Utah.
Hospitalizations
Currently, 152 people are hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 53 of those people were in intensive care units.
Utah’s ICUs were 73.2% full and the ICU beds in Utah’s referral centers were 74.2% full Thursday.
“At about 69% overall ICU utilization, ICUs in Utah’s major hospitals with the ability to provide best care for COVID-19 patients begin to reach staffing capacity,” UDOH officials said. “Seventy-two percent use among all hospitals and 77% in referral center hospitals creates major strains on the health care system. When 85% capacity is reached, Utah will be functionally out of staffed ICU beds, indicating an overwhelmed hospital system.”
Deaths
Six additional deaths were reported Thursday — UDOH said three of those deaths occurred before April 13. To date, the virus has killed 2,255 of the state’s residents.
The following deaths were reported Thursday:
- Male older than 85, Utah County resident, long-term care facility resident
- Female, older than 85, Tooele County resident, long-term care facility resident
- Female, older than 85, Salt Lake County resident, long-term care facility resident
- Male, between 65-84, Iron County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 65-84, Iron County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 45-64, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death
Nationwide Numbers
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.
Click here to sign up for a vaccine and here to see how Utah’s vaccine rollout is progressing.
The latest COVID-19 stories from KSL can be found here.
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 are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies.)