Utah Reports 894 COVID-19 Cases, Eight Additional Deaths
Aug 6, 2021, 1:17 PM | Updated: 1:22 pm
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Health on Friday said eight more Utahns have died due to COVID-19 and 894 residents have tested positive for the virus.
Currently, 375 Utahns are hospitalized due to the virus and the ICUs at Utah’s 16 referral center hospitals were 81.7% full — just below the state’s “functionally full” threshold of 85%.
The state’s seven-day rolling average of positive tests has more quadrupled since June 1, jumping from 200 to 859 on Friday, and 17 counties are now listed in the high transmission level, including Davis, Weber, Salt Lake, Utah and Washington counties.
An additional 7,820 vaccine doses have been administered since Thursday, bringing the state’s total to 3,065,799.
UDOH said over 1.49 million Utahns are now fully vaccinated and over 1.7 million have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
State health officials also released the following statement from Gov. Spencer Cox last week:
“Unfortunately, nearly everyone who is getting sick, and who will end up in the hospital because of today’s case counts, is unvaccinated. This pandemic of the unvaccinated is tragic because it is preventable. It has never been easier to get a vaccine. While we are encouraged by increases in vaccinations, we need more people to protect themselves and their families.”
Of the 1,465,437 Utahns who have been fully vaccinated, 5,500 (0.375%) have tested positive for COVID-19, 337 have been hospitalized (0.023%) and 19 have died (0.0013%).
As of Friday, 2,494 Utahns had died due to COVID-19.
“The UDOH determines vaccine status for cases using two methods — by linking all known cases to vaccination records reported into the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System (USIIIS) and through self-report by asking all cases if they have been fully vaccinated,” UDOH officials said. “Breakthrough cases may be overrepresented in the data due to this self-reporting.”
Testing
UDOH reports 2,960,208 people have been tested — 7,411 more than Thursday. Of those, 438,479 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19 — an increase of 894 new cases.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 859 — down from 905 on Thursday but still up over 100 from last Friday.
On June 1, Utah’s rolling seven-day average was 200 cases.
The rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “people over people” dipped slightly to 14.9% while the rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “tests over tests” remained at 10.6%.
Vaccinations
The state has administered 3,065,799 vaccine doses in total, which is an increase of 7,820 over Thursday’s numbers.
As of Friday, over 1.7 million Utahns had received at least one dose of a vaccine and over 1.49 million Utahns had been fully vaccinated.
Over 3.42 million vaccines have been delivered to Utah.
Hospitalizations
Currently, 375 people are hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 164 of those people were in intensive care units.
Utah’s ICUs were 79.8% full and the ICU beds in Utah’s referral centers were 81.7% full Friday — just below the state’s utilization threshold or “functionally full” mark 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
To date, the virus has killed 2,494 of the state’s residents. The following deaths were reported Friday:
- Male, between 45-64, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, between 45-64, Davis County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, between 45-64, Davis County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 45-64, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, between 45-64, Utah County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, older than 85, Weber County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 45-64, Utah County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female between 65-84, Davis County resident, hospitalized at time of death
Nationwide Numbers
Coronavirus Resources
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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).