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The number of new coronavirus cases remained above 100 on Wednesday, while the state reported 35 more deaths, including a young man between the ages of 18 and 24 in Weber County.
Most of those deaths — 31 — occurred before Feb. 23, according to the Utah Department of Health. As case counts have decreased, epidemiologists at the state and local health departments have been reviewing past death certificate data to make sure all COVID-19 deaths are counted.
Those reviews have identified about 90 more coronavirus deaths, according to the health department. They plan to report all those death by March 28. They reported 38 deaths Tuesday, 31 of which occurred before Feb. 22.
The addition of 35 deaths reported Wednesday brought Utah’s coronavirus death toll to 4,645 since the pandemic began.
The 119 new reported coronavirus cases marks the 12th day in a row with fewer than 200 cases, and the 19th day in a row with fewer than 250.
In the past week, the average number of new cases per day was 126.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 fell to 120 on Wednesday, a decrease of six patients since Tuesday. There were 20 coronavirus patients in intensive care units, one more than Tuesday.
According to UDOH, 65% of Utah’s ICU beds are filled, which falls below the 85% threshold that healthcare workers have said is needed to have enough rooms, equipment and staff available to treat new patients. COVID-19 patients make up 6% of the state’s ICU patients.
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 3.7 times more likely to die than a fully vaccinated person, and 18.8 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 5.5 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 1.9 times more likely than a boosted person.
While state data shows 61.4% of Utahns were fully vaccinated as of Monday, just 27.4% 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 • 2,025 / 4,993,585.
Number of Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,996,642 — 61.4% of Utah’s total population. That is an increase of 583 in the past day.
Cases reported during the past day • 119.
Tests reported in the past day • A total of 6,424 people were tested.
Deaths reported in the past day• 35. Thirty-one of the deaths occurred before Feb. 23.
There were nine deaths in Washington County: a man 45-64, five men and a woman 45-64, four women 65-84, and a man and woman 85 or older.
Iron County reported five deaths: a woman 25-44, two men 65-84, and two men 85 or older.
There were four deaths in Utah County: a man and a woman 45-64, a man 65-84, and a man 85 or older. Weber County also reported four deaths: a man 18-24, a man 45-64, a man 65-84 and a man 85 or older.
Box Elder County reported three deaths: a man 45-64, a man 65-84 and a woman 85 or older.
Salt Lake County reported two deaths: a woman 65-84 and a woman 85 or older.
Four counties each reported the death of a resident age 85 or older: Men in Cache and Garfield counties, and women in Duchesne County and Tooele counties.
And four more counties each reported the death of a resident age 65 to 84: A man in Summit County and women in Davis, Sanpete and Wasatch counties.
Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 120. That’s six fewer than reported on Tuesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 20 are in intensive care, one more than on Tuesday.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate was 3.9% over the past day. That is lower than the seven-day average of 4.7%.
The state’s newer method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Tuesday’s rate was 1.9%, lower than the seven-day average of 2.7%.
Totals to date • 927,013 cases; 4,645 deaths; 33,888 hospitalizations; 9,371,761 tests administered.
