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The number of new COVID-19 cases surged back above 1,000 on Wednesday, according to the Utah Department of Health, and there were eight more deaths — four of the deaths were people age 44 and under, including one teenager or young man between age 14 and 24.
(The department does not release more specific information about individuals who have died as a result of the coronavirus.)
Utah reported 1,050 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, more than six times the tally of cases reported a month earlier.
On July 4, there were 161 new cases, according to UDOH. Three months ago, on May 4, there were 480 new cases. On Feb. 4, six months ago, there were 1,223 new cases. Looking back a year, to Aug. 4, 2020, there were 412 new cases.
The rolling seven-day average of new cases is 907, the highest that number has been since mid-February.
The delta variant has become the most identified in Utah, although only tiny fractions of cases are classified by variant. According to UDOH, delta (3,761 cases) has surpassed alpha (3,701).
Only 2% of Utah’s cases of COVID-19 have been classified by variant — 8,744 out 436,487.
Vaccine doses administered in past day/total doses administered • 8.379 / 3,050,326.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,491,534.
Cases reported in past day • 1,050.
Deaths reported in past day • Eight.
Weber County reported four deaths: A male between age 14 and 24, a man 25-44, a man 65-84, and a man 85-plus.
Two Salt Lake County residents died, both women 45-64.
The other Utahns whose deaths were reported were a Cache County woman and a Utah County man, both between ages 25 and 44.
Tests reported in past day • 6,999 people were tested for the first time. A total of 12,293 people were tested.
Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 388. That’s seven fewer than Tuesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 166 are in intensive care, five fewer than the previous day.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 15%. That’s about the same as the seven-day average of 15.2%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Wednesday’s rate was 8.5%, lower than the seven-day average of 10.7%
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 436,487 cases; 2,479 deaths; 18,825 hospitalizations; 2,945,514 people tested.
