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Utah reported 3,128 new coronavirus cases Monday as ICU beds across the state appear to be opening up after operating for months above peak capacity, state data shows.
The case counts over the weekend — 1,357 on Friday, 1,121 on Saturday and 660 on Sunday — continued a downward trend health officials have seen since late January.
The Utah Department of Health also reported 39 new COVID-19 deaths Monday, including 23 people who died of COVID-19 prior to Jan. 14. There have been 4,300 deaths from COVID-19 in Utah since the pandemic began.
“These deaths are a stark, sad reminder of the human toll COVID-19 continues to take in our communities,” the health department said in a statement. “Behind each number is a family mourning the loss of a loved one and we share in their grief.”
As of Monday, there were 123 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units throughout the state, down 35 since Friday. ICUs in the state’s larger “referral” hospitals were at 78.2% capacity, lower than 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 had surpassed 85% occupancy almost continuously since late August.
Statewide, 75.2% of all ICU beds were filled as of Monday. And COVID-19 hospitalizations dropped from 634 patients to 561, the health department reported.
According to state data, 60.6% of Utahns were fully vaccinated as of Monday. However, researchers have found that a booster is crucial to prevent serious illness — and just 26.1% of all Utahns have received a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
State health officials said Monday that getting vaccinated against COVID-19, including getting a booster shot, is the best way to prevent hospitalization or death if infected.
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 three days/total doses administered • 11,302 / 4,900,516.
Number of Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,969,266 — 60.6% of Utah’s total population. That is an increase of 4,785 since Friday.
Cases reported in the past three days • 3,128.
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 three days • A total of 12,037 people were tested.
Deaths reported Monday • 39. Twenty-three of the deaths reported Monday occurred before Jan. 14.
Nine Salt Lake County residents died: A woman age 45-64; two men ages 45-64; three men and two women ages 65-84; and a woman 85 or older.
Seven Davis County residents died: A man age 25-44; two men and a woman ages 45-64; and a man and two women ages 65-84.
Seven residents also died in Weber County: a woman age 25-44; two women and a man ages 45-64; two men ages 65-84; and a man 85 or older.
In Washington County, five residents died: A man age 25-44; a man age 45-64; a man and woman ages 65-84; and a man 85 or older.
Four Utah County residents died: A man and woman ages 45-64; a man age 65-84; and a man 85 or older.
Three Cache County residents also died: a man and woman ages 45-64 and a man between 65-84.
Four counties each reported one death: a Box Elder County man age 65-84; an Iron County woman age 65-84; a Sevier County woman age 65-84; and a Uintah County woman age 45-64.
Utahns currently hospitalized with COVID-19 • 561. That is 73 fewer than reported on Friday. Of those currently hospitalized, 123 are in intensive care — 35 fewer than on Friday.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate was 30% for the past three days. That is slightly lower than the seven-day average of 30.4%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. The weekend’s rate was 12.8%, lower than the seven-day average of 11%.
[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 8.3 times as likely to die of COVID-19 as vaccinated people were, according to a Utah Department of Health analysis. The unvaccinated also were 4.4 times as likely to be hospitalized, and 2.4 times as likely to test positive for the coronavirus.
Totals to date • 914,028 cases; 4,300 deaths; 32,517 hospitalizations; 9,101,774 tests administered.
