Utah reports 1,975 COVID cases, 12 additional deaths; referral center ICUs 99.1% full
Oct 6, 2021, 1:17 PM | Updated: 1:37 pm
(Courtesy of Intermountain Healthcare)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Health on Wednesday said 12 more Utahns have died due to COVID-19 and 1,975 residents have tested positive for the virus.
Of those cases, 434 (21.97%) were in school-aged children.
- 187 cases in children ages 5-10
- 106 cases in children ages 11-13
- 141 cases in children ages 14-18
Currently, 575 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, are 99.1% full — above the state’s “functionally full” threshold of 85%.
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The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 1,422 — up from 1,376 on Monday and 1,359 last Monday.
An additional 10,124 vaccine doses have been administered since Tuesday, bringing the state’s total number of vaccine doses given to 3,525,706.
UDOH said over 1.7 million Utahns are now fully vaccinated and over 1.9 million have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has fully approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, and Johnson & Johnson has applied for emergency-use authorization for a booster dose of its 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
In the last 28 days, people who are unvaccinated are at 6.4 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 7 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and 6.3 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than vaccinated people.
Since Feb. 1, people who are unvaccinated are at 4 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 4.8 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and 4 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than vaccinated people.
Of the 1,664,117 Utahns who are 14 days past their fully vaccinated date, 19,806 (1.19018%) have tested positive for COVID-19, 1,011 have been hospitalized (0.06075%) and 131 have died (0.00787%).
Utah has reported 516,748 positive COVID-19 cases, 22,514 hospitalizations and 2,974 deaths in total since the pandemic started.
Testing
UDOH reports 3,505,637 people have been tested — 11,613 more than Monday. Of those, 516,748 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19 — an increase of 1,975 new cases.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 1,422 — up from 1,376 on Monday and 1,359 last Monday.
On June 1, Utah’s rolling seven-day average was 200 cases.
The rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “people over people” remained at 15.4% while the rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “tests over tests” dipped slightly to 10.1%.
Vaccinations
The state has administered 3,525,706 vaccine doses in total as of Wednesday, which is an increase of 10,124 over Tuesday’s numbers.
As of Wednesday, over 1.9 million Utahns had received at least one dose of a vaccine and over 1.7 million Utahns had been fully vaccinated.
Over 4.11 million vaccines have been delivered to Utah.
Hospitalizations
Currently, 575 people are hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 229 of those people are in intensive care units.
Utah’s ICUs were 97.1% full and the ICU beds in Utah’s referral centers were 99.1% full Wednesday — above the state’s utilization threshold or “functionally full” mark of 85%.
Forty-four percent of Utah’s ICU usage is due to COVID-19 patients.
“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 2,974 of the state’s residents. The following deaths were reported Wednesday:
- Male, between 65-84, Sanpete County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 45-64, Iron County, long-term care facility resident
- Male, between 25-44, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, between 25-44, Duchesne County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, between 65-84, Uintah County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, older than 85, Washington County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 45-64, Tooele County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, between 65-84, Davis County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, between 645-84, Washington County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, older than 85, Weber County resident, unknown if hospitalized at time of death
- Male, older than 85, Utah County resident, unknown if hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 65-84, Utah County resident, unknown if 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:
- Get vaccinated
- 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).