Utah Reports 259 New COVID-19 Cases, 13 Additional Deaths
May 4, 2021, 1:13 PM | Updated: 1:39 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Officials with the Utah Department of Health said 259 more Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19 and another 13 deaths were reported on Tuesday.
UDOH said 10 of those deaths occurred before April 1.
An additional 19,064 vaccines have been administered, bringing the state’s total to more than 2.20 million, and there were 143 people hospitalized with the virus.
For more information, visit coronavirus.utah.gov.
Gov. Spencer Cox announced during his weekly press conference Thursday that any organization can request a mobile vaccination clinic as part of efforts to reach out to more Utahns.
He also said there is no excuse for people not to get a vaccine because they are widely available and there are many appointments available across the state right now — including walk-in appointments in Salt Lake County.
Testing
UDOH reports 2,574,992 people have been tested — 4,059 more than Monday. Of those, 398,499 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19 — an increase of 228 new cases.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 358 cases — down from 369 cases on Monday.
The rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “people over people” dropped from 6.6% to 6.5% while the rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “tests over tests” dropped from 3.6% to 3.4%.
Vaccinations
The state has administered 2,204,824 vaccines in total, which is an increase of 19,965 over Monday’s numbers. As of Tuesday, over 1.32 million Utahns had received at least one dose of a vaccine and over 973,000 Utahns had been fully vaccinated.
Over 2.55 million vaccines have been delivered to Utah.
Hospitalizations
Currently, 143 people are hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 54 of those people were in intensive care units.
Utah’s ICUs were 67.5% full and the ICU beds in Utah’s referral centers were 71.3% full Tuesday.
“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
Thirteen additional deaths were reported Tuesday, and UDOH said 10 of those deaths occurred before April 1. To date, the virus has killed 2,217 of the state’s residents.
The following deaths were reported Tuesday:
- Male between 45-64, Cache County resident, not hospitalized at time of death
- Male, older than 85, Salt Lake County resident, not hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 25-44, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 45-64, Salt Lake County resident, not hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 65-84, Salt Lake County resident, not hospitalized at time of death
- Female, between 65-84, Cache County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, between 25-44, Salt Lake County resident, not hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 65-84, Washington County resident, not hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 25-44, Carbon County resident, not hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 65-84, Salt Lake County resident, not hospitalized at time of death
- Male, older than 85, Weber County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, between 25-44, Uintah County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, between 45-64, Box Elder 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.)