Utah Reports Three Additional Deaths, 431 New COVID-19 Cases

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Health on Friday reported three more Utahns have died due to COVID-19 while another 431 residents have tested positive for the virus.

UDOH also said the state’s dashboard has been updated to include information on breakthrough cases — people who have gotten sick 14 days or more after being fully vaccinated.

“While no vaccines are 100% effective at preventing illness in vaccinated people, Utah data shows the vaccines have been remarkably effective in protecting vaccinated Utahns from COVID-19,” UDOH officials said. “The data also indicates the vast majority of new cases are in unvaccinated people which is driving the recent increase in COVID-19 cases.

“The increase in cases serves as a reminder that we aren’t out of the woods yet, and it remains critical for Utahns to get vaccinated, limit your contact with others who are not part of your usual circle, wear a mask when you can’t physical distance, stay home if you’re sick and wash your hands often.”

UDOH determines vaccine status for cases using two methods — linking all known cases to vaccination records reported into the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System and through self-report by asking all cases if they have been fully vaccinated. Breakthrough cases may be overrepresented in the data due to this self-reporting.

This information can be found on the “Risk Factors” tab of the state’s coronavirus website.

Currently, 254 Utahns are hospitalized due to the virus — down slightly from 257 on Thursday — and an additional 5,726 vaccine doses have been administered, bringing the state’s total to 2,871,078.

Gov. Spencer Cox said hospitalizations due to COVID-19 haven’t been this high since mid-February, and only 130 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on May 31.

UDOH said over 1.41 million Utahns are now fully vaccinated and over 1.58 million have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

Beginning with the Fourth of July weekend, UDOH will only update the COVID-19 dashboard on official business days. The next update will come on Tuesday and will include numbers from Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

For more information, visit coronavirus.utah.gov.

Testing

UDOH reports 2,803,361 people have been tested — 4,182 more than Thursday. Of those, 416,110 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19 — an increase of 431 new cases.

The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 401 — up from 384 on Thursday. On June 1, Utah’s rolling seven-day average was 200 cases.

The rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “people over people” rose slightly to 10.2% while the rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “tests over tests” rose to 6.8%.

Vaccinations

The state has administered 2,871,078 vaccine doses in total, which is an increase of 5,726 over Thursday’s numbers.

As of Thursday, over 1.58 million Utahns had received at least one dose of a vaccine and over 1.41 million Utahns had been fully vaccinated.

Over 3.26 million vaccines have been delivered to Utah.

Hospitalizations

Currently, 254 people are hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 81 of those people were in intensive care units.

Utah’s ICUs were 77.9% full and the ICU beds in Utah’s referral centers were 81.7% full Friday — passing the state’s utilization warning threshold of 77% and nearing the utilization threshold of 85%.

“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

Three additional deaths were reported Friday. To date, the virus has killed 2,378 of the state’s residents.

The following deaths were reported Friday:

• Male, between 45-64, Cache County resident, hospitalized at time of death
• Female, between 25-44, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death
• Male, between 65-84, Box Elder County resident, hospitalized at time of death

Nationwide Numbers

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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 unvaccinated Americans should continue wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies).