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 morning. To support journalism like this, please donate or become a subscriber.
Five more Utahns died of COVID-19 in the past day, according to the Utah Department of Health, bringing Utah’s death toll to 3,095 since the pandemic began.
Two people who died were between the ages of 25-44, and one was 45-64, the Health Department reported.
The Health Department on Tuesday also reported 1,343 new coronavirus cases in the past day. The rolling seven-day average for positive tests stands at 1,283 per day.
The number of Utahns in intensive care units has fallen slightly in recent days, but ICUs remain near capacity. According to the Health Department, 86.6% of all ICU beds and 90.2% of ICU beds in larger medical centers are occupied. Of all ICU patients, 44.8% are being treated for COVID-19.
An additional 2,089 Utahns were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in the past day, bringing the total to 1,729,035. — 52.8% of Utah’s total population.
Vaccine doses administered in the past day/total doses administered • 8,358 / 3,626,510.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,729,035.
Cases reported in past day • 1,343.
Cases among school age children • Kids in grades K-12 accounted for 284 of the new cases announced Tuesday — 21% of the tally. There were 137 cases reported in children aged 5-10; 64 cases in children 11-13; and 83 cases in children 14-18.
Tests reported in past day • 6,931 people were tested for the first time. A total of 14,607 people were tested.
Deaths reported in past day • Five.
There were three deaths in Salt Lake County — a man and a woman between the ages of 25 and 44, and a man 45-64.
A Davis County man 85 or older and a Washington County woman 65-84 also died.
Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 523. That’s six more than reported on Monday. Of those currently hospitalized, 202 are in intensive care — five than reported Monday.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 19.4% over the past day. That’s higher than the seven-day average of 15.2%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Tuesday’s rate was 9.2%, lower than the seven-day average of 10%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Risk ratios • In the past four weeks, unvaccinated Utahns were 14.7 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to a Health Department analysis. The unvaccinated also were 10.7 times more likely to be hospitalized and 5.8 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.
Totals to date • 533,526 cases; 3,095 deaths; 23,321 hospitalizations; 3,608,571 people tested.