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With more than 200,000 Utahns now fully vaccinated, the number of COVID-19 cases in the state continues to fall, with the weekly average dipping below 800 for the first time since September.
Saturday was the first time that the Utah Department of Health reported that the state has surpassed the 200,000 mark for number of Utahns who have received two doses of the coronavirus vaccine. The positivity rate for tests continues to decline, as does the number of people still in the hospital with COVID-19. It stands now at 242. The last time hospitalization numbers were this low, it was Oct. 9.
Vaccinations reported in past day/total vaccinations • 18,383 / 598,434.
Number of Utahns who have received two doses • 200,651.
Cases reported in past day • 778.
Deaths reported in past day • Eight.
Five of those who died lived in Salt Lake County. A woman who was older than 85 was not hospitalized at the time of her death. The remaining four died in a hospital: Two men and a woman who were between the ages of 65 and 84, and a man who was between 45 years old and 64.
Two Weber County women died, both of whom were hospitalized. One woman was older than 85, the other was between 65 and 84 years old. One Utah County woman, who was between the ages of 45 and 64, died at a hospital.
Hospitalizations reported in past day • 242. That’s down 13 from Friday. Of those currently hospitalized, 99 are in intensive care units — four fewer than on Friday.
Tests reported in past day • 6,892 people were tested for the first time.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 11.2%. This is lower than the seven-day average of 13.6%.
Its new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Saturday’s rate is now at 3.9%, lower than the seven-day average of 6.12%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 366,034 cases; 1,842 deaths; 14,421 hospitalizations; 2,158,136 people tested.
