Utah Reports 266 New COVID-19 Cases, Four Additional Deaths
May 20, 2021, 12:51 PM | Updated: 1:03 pm
(Photo by Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Officials with the Utah Department of Health on Thursday said four more Utahns have died from COVID-19 while 266 additional residents have tested positive for the virus.
Currently, 139 people are hospitalized with the virus and an additional 19,236 vaccines have been administered, bringing the state’s total to more than 2.46 million.
UDOH also said over 1.1 million Utahns are now fully vaccinated.
For more information, visit coronavirus.utah.gov.
Last week, Gov. Spencer Cox announced the statewide mask mandate for K-12 schools will end beginning the Monday of a school’s final week.
The order requiring masks in state facilities and for state employees also ended last week.
Testing
UDOH reports 2,653,810 people have been tested — 4,445 more than Wednesday. Of those, 403,684 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19 — an increase of 266 new cases.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 291 — down from 312 on Wednesday.
The rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “people over people” dropped slightly at 6.3% while the rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “tests over tests” dropped slightly to 3.4%.
Vaccinations
The state has administered 2,464,088 vaccines in total, which is an increase of 19,236 over Wednesday’s numbers. As of Thursday, over 1.42 million Utahns had received at least one dose of a vaccine and over 1.14 million Utahns had been fully vaccinated.
Over 2.97 million vaccines have been delivered to Utah.
Hospitalizations
Currently, 139 people are hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 57 of those people were in intensive care units.
Utah’s ICUs were 75.6% full and the ICU beds in Utah’s referral centers were 79.2% 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
Four additional deaths were reported Thursday. To date, the virus has killed 2,279 of the state’s residents.
The following deaths were reported Thursday:
- Male, older than 85, Weber County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 25-44, Washington County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 65-84, Summit County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 45-64, Davis County resident, hospitalized at time of death
Nationwide Numbers
Coronavirus Resources
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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.)