Utah reports 1,685 COVID-19 cases, six additional deaths

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Health on Wednesday said six more Utahns have died due to COVID-19 and 1,685 residents have tested positive for the virus.

Of those cases, 411 (24.39%) were school-aged children — 161 cases in children ages 5-10, 105 cases in children ages 11-13 and 141 cases in children ages 14-18.

The Salt Lake County Health Department also reported one child age 4 or younger is currently on a ventilator in the ICU due to COVID-19.

Currently, 489 Utahns are hospitalized due to the virus and the ICUs at Utah’s 16 referral center hospitals, where the majority of COVID-19 patients are treated, were 90.7% full — above the state’s “functionally full” threshold of 85%.

Gov. Spencer Cox said at one point Friday, ICUs at the referral centers were 100% full and a patient from a rural ICU was denied a bed twice.

The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 1,289 — up from 1,263 on Monday and 1,084 last Monday.

An additional 7,649 vaccine doses have been administered since Monday, bringing the state’s total to 3,263,857.

UDOH said over 1.58 million Utahns are now fully vaccinated and over 1.81 million have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

“The vaccine has been proven to be safe and highly effective since it first became available under emergency use last December. Full FDA approval is the final step in a rigorous approval process to confirm the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness,” UDOH officials said. “The FDA’s announcement should provide confidence to anyone who may have hesitated to get the vaccine while it was under emergency use. We strongly encourage you to get vaccinated and help end the pandemic. We also strongly encourage healthcare providers who haven’t offered COVID-19 vaccines at their practice before now, to take the necessary steps to enroll as vaccine providers as soon as possible.”

Vaccinated vs. unvaccinated risk ratios

UDOH has added data on risk ratios among the vaccinated and the unvaccinated for testing positive, becoming hospitalized and dying from COVID-19 to the public data dashboard.

That data can be found by clicking on the “Risk Factors” tab at coronavirus.utah.gov.

In the last 28 days, people who are unvaccinated are at 4.8 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 5.7 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and 5 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than vaccinated people.

Since Feb. 1, people who are unvaccinated are at 5.9 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 5.3 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and 4.7 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than vaccinated people.

Of the 1,535,003 Utahns who are 14 days past their fully vaccinated date, 10,631 (0.69257%) have tested positive for COVID-19, 591 have been hospitalized (0.0385%) and 54 have died (0.00352%).

Utah has reported 466,107 positive COVID-19 cases, 20,227 hospitalizations and 2,640 deaths in total since the pandemic started.

“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 3,152,201 people have been tested — 12,974 more than Tuesday. Of those, 466,107 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19 — an increase of 1,685 new cases.

The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 1,289 — up from 1,263 on Monday and 1,084 last Monday.

The previous Monday’s average was 903.

On June 1, Utah’s rolling seven-day average was 200 cases.

The rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “people over people” dropped slightly to 14.5% while the rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “tests over tests” dropped to 10.45%.

Vaccinations

The state has administered 3,263,857 vaccine doses in total, which is an increase of 7,649 over Tuesday’s numbers.

As of Tuesday, over 1.81 million Utahns had received at least one dose of a vaccine and over 1.58 million Utahns had been fully vaccinated.

Over 3.80 million vaccines have been delivered to Utah.

Hospitalizations

Currently, 489 people are hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19 — Utah’s highest total since late January — and 181 of those people were in intensive care units.

Utah’s ICUs were 88.3% full and the ICU beds in Utah’s referral centers were 90.7% full Wednesday — above 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

As of Wednesday, the virus had killed 2,640 of the state’s residents. The following deaths were reported Wednesday:

• Female, between 65-84, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death
• Male, between 65-84, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death
• Male, between 65-84, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death
• Male, between 25-44, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death
• Female, older than 85, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death
• Female, older than 85, Davis County resident, not 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).