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The number of new coronavirus cases in Utah remains relatively low, with 198 positive tests reported Wednesday.
It marked the fourth day in a row that the state reported fewer than 200 new cases. The Utah Department of Health on Wednesday also reported nine more COVID-19 deaths for a total of 4,494 since the pandemic began. Five of the deaths reported Wednesday occurred before Feb. 9.
The state has reported a total of 1,251 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, an average of about 179 a day. During the omicron variant surge in January and early February, daily Utah case counts peaked on Jan. 14 with 13,321 new cases reported in a single day.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 continues to fall. As of Wednesday, 228 were hospitalized — 10 fewer than reported on Monday and the lowest figure reported in eight months, state data shows.
ICU beds across Utah are 68.7% filled, significantly below the 85% threshold that healthcare workers have said is needed to account for available room, equipment and staffing for new patients. Ten percent of the total number of ICU patients in Utah are hospitalized because of COVID-19.
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 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 5.2 times more likely than a boosted person.
• An unvaccinated person is twice 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 Wednesday, just 27.1% 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 • 2,522 / 4,967,457.
Number of Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,989,480 — 61.2% of Utah’s total population. That is an increase of 644 in the past day.
Cases reported during the past day • 198.
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 7,594 people were tested.
Deaths reported in the past day • Nine. Five of these people died before Feb. 9.
Weber County reported three deaths — two men between the ages of 45-64, and a man 65-84.
There were two deaths in Salt Lake County — both men 65-84.
Four counties each reported a single death — a Beaver County man 85 or older; a Box Elder County woman 65-84; a Cache County woman 54-64; and an Emery County man 65-84.
Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 228. That is 10 fewer than reported on Tuesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 36 are in intensive care, down 14 from Tuesday.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate was 6.1% in the past day. That is lower than the seven-day average of 8.2%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Wednesday’s rate was 2.6%, lower than the seven-day average of 5.2%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 925,089 cases; 4,494 deaths; 33,571 hospitalizations; 9,295,702 tests administered.
