Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing free access to critical stories about the coronavirus. Sign up for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every weekday morning. To support journalism like this, please donate or become a subscriber.
The number of new coronavirus cases reported Saturday remained below 500 again — a welcome sign in the state’s fight to control the disease.
But tempering the good news, hospitalizations from COVID-19 and patients in the intensive care unit both climbed slightly, according to figures from the Utah Department of Health.
UDOH also reported 10 more deaths due to the coronavirus. Six of those occurred before March 1, and were only recently confirmed as being caused by COVID-19.
Vaccine doses administered in past day/total doses administered • 27,583 / 1,289,691.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 470,905.
Cases reported in past day • 460.
Deaths reported in past day • 10.
Salt Lake County reported three deaths: A man 45-64 and a man and woman both 85-plus.
There were two deaths in Davis County: a man 45-64 and a woman 85-plus.
Two Utah County residents died: two women both 85-plus.
Three counties each reported a single death: A woman 45-64 in Weber County; a man 45-64 in Beaver County; and a man 65-84 in Washington County.
Hospitalizations reported in past day • 137. That’s up seven from Friday. Of those currently hospitalized, 56 are in intensive care units — six more than on Friday.
Tests reported in past day • 6,048 people were tested for the first time. A total of 14,289 people were tested.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 7.6%. That’s higher than the seven-day average of 7.4%.
Its new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Saturday’s rate is now at 3.2%, lower than the seven-day average of 3.7%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 384,173 cases; 2,101 deaths; 15,441 hospitalizations; 2,368,017 people tested.
