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Utah’s COVID-19 hospitalizations remained high Friday, even as cases continued to decline after January’s surge of infections from the highly contagious omicron variant.
The Utah Department of Health reported 2,808 new COVID-19 cases on Friday — far higher than most days throughout the pandemic, but continuing a sharp drop after January’s peak of more than 13,000 cases in a single day.
Hospitalizations rose in the past day, however. There were 782 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Friday, down just five from Thursday and far higher than the record before January — 606, in December 2020. State officials last week announced that a data error had caused inaccuracies in hospital counts for months, significantly undercounting them in recent weeks.
There were 182 COVID patients in intensive care units statewide as of Friday. ICUs in the state’s larger “referral” hospitals were at 90.9 % capacity, exceeding the 85% threshold that hospital administrators have said is necessary to leave room for unpredictable staffing levels, new patients and availability of specialized equipment and personnel.
ICUs in those larger hospitals have surpassed 85% occupancy almost continuously since late August. Statewide, 87% of all ICU beds were filled as of Friday.
Health officials on Friday also confirmed 13 new COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 4,173.
Friday marked the 6th consecutive day that fewer than 4,000 new cases were reported in Utah. The weeklong average was 3,295 cases per day — comparable to the pandemic’s highest levels before the omicron variant began sweeping across the state, but lower than last month’s peak average of nearly 11,000 cases per day.
January’s averages also likely reflected drastic undercounting, as state officials urged most Utahns not to get tested even if they developed symptoms, because the influx of new patients was causing test sites to be overrun and draining test supplies statewide.
According to state data, 60% of Utahns were fully vaccinated as of Friday — a figure that has been inching upward for weeks. However, researchers have found that a booster is crucial to prevent serious illness — and less than 25% of all Utahns have received a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Find where to get vaccinated at coronavirus.utah.gov/vaccine-distribution. Find where to get tested at coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-covid-19-testing-locations.
Breakdown of updated figures
Vaccine doses administered in the past day/total doses administered • 3,593 / 4,817,648.
Number of Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,950,277 — 60% of Utah’s total population. That is an increase of 1,070 in the past day.
Cases reported in the past day • 2,808.
Vaccination status • Health officials do not immediately have to release the vaccination status of individuals who test positive, who are hospitalized or who die. They do calculate the overall risk ratios of these outcomes depending on vaccination status, which is listed below.
Tests reported in the past day • A total of 17,223 people were tested.
Deaths reported in the past day • 13.
Davis County reported four deaths: women ages 45-64 and 65-84, and men ages 65-84 and older than 84.
Salt Lake County reported the deaths of two women ages 45-64 and a man age 65-84.
Box Elder, Iron, Juab, Tooele and Weber counties each reported the death of one man between 65 and 84 years old. And Washington County confirmed the death of a woman age 65-84.
Utahns currently hospitalized with COVID-19 • 782. That is five fewer than reported Thursday. Of those currently hospitalized, 182 are in intensive care — down 14 from Thursday.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate was 43.6% on Friday. That is higher than the seven-day average of 40.7%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Friday’s rate was 16.3%, lower than the seven-day average of 24.9%.
[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 8.6 times as likely to die of COVID-19 as vaccinated people were, according to a Utah Department of Health analysis. The unvaccinated also were 4.7 times as likely to be hospitalized, and 2.3 times as likely to test positive for the coronavirus.
Totals to date • 898,267 cases; 4,173 deaths; 31,796 hospitalizations; 8,974,993 tests administered.
