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There are now more COVID-19 patients hospitalized in intensive care units throughout Utah than ever previously recorded, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The state Health Department on Monday reported that 233 people were being treated for COVID-19 in Utah ICUs as of Sunday, breaking the previous record of 232 set Friday. (The highest number of COVID-19 patients ever hospitalized in Utah was 606 on Dec. 9, but of those hospitalized at the time, 213 were in ICUs.)
In the past three days, nearly 3,400 more Utahns tested positive for COVID-19. More than 650 of those new cases were reported in school-age children.
There were 1,373 cases reported Friday; 1,130 on Saturday; and 900 on Sunday, for a total of 3,393 and a daily average of 1,131, UDOH announced Monday. (The state Health Department no longer issues updates on Saturdays and Sundays.)
The number of tests — and the number of new cases — generally decreases on the weekends, particularly on Sundays.
Kids in grades K-12 accounted for 652 of the new cases announced Monday. There were 319 cases in children aged 5-10; 145 cases in children 11-13; and 188 cases in children 14-18.
Two more schools — marking a total now of five — also hit the state-designated threshold for an outbreak: Antelope Elementary in Davis School District, and Mountain Crest High School in Cache County School District.
Both schools will now test all students with parent permission with a Test to Stay event. Those who test negative can return to class in person; those who test positive or refuse to test must stay home for two weeks.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests stands at 1,465 per day.
Fourteen more Utahns died of the coronavirus in the past three days, and the Health Department added three more deaths that occurred before Sept. 1 to the total. Six who died were under age 65, and four were under age 45.
In the past four weeks, unvaccinated Utahns were 5.6 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to a Health Department analysis. The unvaccinated were also seven times more likely to be hospitalized, and 6.6 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.
An additional 10,003 Utahns were fully vaccinated in the past three days, bringing the total to 1,652,720 — 50.05% of Utah’s total population.
Vaccine doses administered in past three days/total doses administered • 16,990 / 3,389,704.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,652,720.
Cases reported in past three days • 3,393
Deaths reported in past three days • 17.
There were six deaths in Salt Lake County — two men between ages 25 and 44; a man 45-64; a man and a woman 65-84; and a man 85-plus.
Washington County reported three deaths — a man 25-44, and a man and a woman 85-plus.
Three counties each reported two deaths — a man and a woman 65-84 in Iron County; a woman 65-84 and a man 85-plus in Juab County; and a man 45-64 and a man 85-plus in Weber County.
A Davis County man 65-84 and a Utah County man 25-44 also died.
Tests reported in past three days • 24,866 people were tested for the first time. A total of 43,043 people were tested.
Hospitalizations reported in the past three days • 577. That’s 15 fewer than Friday. Of those currently hospitalized, 233 are in intensive care — eight more than Friday.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 13.6% over the past three days. That’s slightly lower than the seven-day average of 13.8%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Monday’s rate was 7.9%, lower than the seven-day average of 10.2%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 494,378 cases; 2,804 deaths; 21,475 hospitalizations; 3,363,259 people tested.
According to the UDOH, Utah has seen 14,902 “breakthrough” cases of COVID-19 — people who contracted the virus two weeks or more after being fully vaccinated. That’s 0.9% of people who are fully vaccinated.
Of that number, 787 required hospitalization — 0.047% of those fully vaccinated. And there have been 87 deaths — 0.005% of those fully vaccinated.
— Tribune reporter Courtney Tanner contributed to this story.
