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The number of new coronavirus cases in Utah continues to drop, with just 100 positive tests reported Tuesday, but deaths caused by the virus keep mounting.
The Utah Department of Health announced 24 new COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, for a total of 4,485 deaths since the pandemic began. Ten of the deaths occurred before Feb. 8.
Most of the people who died were between the ages of 65 and 84 years old. The youngest were two men between the ages of 25 and 44, according to the health department.
The number of hospitalizations is also dropping. The health department reported 238 coronavirus patients, 23 less than Monday and lowest number since last July.
ICU beds across Utah are 63.7% filled, significantly below the 85% thresholds healthcare workers need to make sure there is room and equipment available for new patients and to account for staff absences. Of the state’s 1,294 ventilators, 216 are being used.
A UDOH analysis continues to show that booster shots significantly decrease Utahns’ chances of dying of COVID-19. Over the past four weeks:
• An unvaccinated person who contracts the virus is 5.5 times more likely to die than a fully vaccinated person, and 15.2 times more likely than a boosted person.
• An unvaccinated person who contracts the virus is 2.2 times more likely to be hospitalized than a fully vaccinated person, and 5.3 times more likely than a boosted person.
• An unvaccinated person is 1.9 times as likely to contract the virus than a fully vaccinated person, and 2.1 times more likely than a boosted person.
While state data show 61.2% of Utahns were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, just 27% 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 • 2,047 / 4,964,935.
Number of Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,988,836 — 61.2% of Utah’s total population. That is an increase of 2,047 in the past day.
Cases reported during the past day • 100.
Vaccination status • Health officials do not immediately have or 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 above.
Tests reported in the past day • A total of 5,670 people were tested.
Deaths reported in the past day • 24. Ten of these people died before Feb. 8.
Salt Lake County reported nine COVID-19 deaths: a man age 25-44; two men and a woman ages 45-64; three men and a woman ages 65-84; and a man 85 or older.
Six Washington County residents died, including a man age 45-64. The others were a woman and four men, ages 65-84.
The state reported four Utah County resident deaths: a man age 25-44; a man and a woman ages 65-84; and a man age 85 or older.
Five counties reported a single COVID-19 death: A Box Elder County man age 65-84; a Davis County man age 65-84; an Iron County woman age 85 or older; a Sanpete County man age 65-84; and a Weber County man age 65-84.
Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 238. That is 23 fewer than reported on Monday. Of those currently hospitalized, 50 are in intensive care.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate was 4% in the past day. That is lower than the seven-day average of 8.8%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Friday’s rate was 1.7%, lower than the seven-day average of 5.6%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 924,891 cases; 4,485 deaths; 33,532 hospitalizations; 9,288,108 tests administered.
