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Utah took “another step in the wrong direction” on Thursday, said Gov. Spencer Cox, reporting 1,113 new cases of COVID-19 — the most in a single day in almost 5 1/2 months. (There were 1,148 on Feb. 17.)
And, the governor repeated, the state could “turn the tide” and the climbing numbers could be reversed if unvaccinated Utahns would get vaccinated.
“Unfortunately, nearly everyone who is getting sick, and who will end up in the hospital because of today’s case counts, is unvaccinated,” Cox said. “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.”
The rolling seven-day average of positive tests rose to 691, the highest that number has been since Feb. 25, when it was 692.
Vaccine doses administered in past day/total doses administered • 8,122 / 3,009,594.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,475,806.
Cases reported in past day • 1,113.
Deaths reported in past day • Three — a woman between the ages of 45 and 64 and a woman 85-plus in Salt Lake County, and a woman 65 to 84 in Utah County.
Tests reported in past day • 5,757 people were tested for the first time. A total of 9,993 people were tested.
Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 353. That’s three more than on Wednesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 156 are in intensive care units, one fewer than on Wednesday.
As of Thursday, 85.5% of the state’s ICU beds are occupied. (That includes both COVID-19 patients and all others.)
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 19.3%. That’s higher than the seven-day average of 14.7%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Thursday’s rate was 11.1%, higher than the seven-day average of 10.4%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 431,256 cases; 2,450 deaths; 18,526 hospitalizations; 2,910,139 people tested.
