Utah Reports Three Additional Deaths, 343 New COVID-19 Cases

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Department of Health on Thursday said three more Utahns have died due to COVID-19 and another 343 residents have tested positive for the virus.

UDOH said one of those deaths occurred before May 3.

Currently, 140 people are hospitalized with the virus and an additional 9,713 vaccines have been administered, bringing the state’s total to 2,612,068. 

UDOH also said over 1.22 million Utahns are now fully vaccinated and over 1.49 million have received at least one dose of a vaccine.  

For more information, visit coronavirus.utah.gov.  

Testing  

UDOH reports 2,701,777 people have been tested — 4,602 more than Wednesday. Of those, 406,825 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19 — an increase of 343 new cases.  

The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 208 — up from 202 on Wednesday.

The rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “people over people” remained 6.6% while the rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “tests over tests” rose slightly to 4%.

Vaccinations

The state has administered 2,612,068 vaccines in total, which is an increase of 9,713 over Wednesday’s numbers. As of Thursday, over 1.49 million Utahns had received at least one dose of a vaccine and over 1.22 million Utahns had been fully vaccinated.

Over 3.12 million vaccines have been delivered to Utah.

Hospitalizations

Currently, 140 people are hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 54 of those people were in intensive care units.

Utah’s ICUs were 72.4% full and the ICU beds in Utah’s referral centers were 75.1% full Thursday.

“At about 69% overall ICU utilization, ICUs in Utah’s major hospitals with the ability to provide best care for COVID-19 patients begin to reach staffing capacity,” UDOH officials said. “Seventy-two percent use among all hospitals and 77% in referral center hospitals creates major strains on the health care system. When 85% capacity is reached, Utah will be functionally out of staffed ICU beds, indicating an overwhelmed hospital system.”

Deaths

Three additional deaths were reported Thursday, one of which occurred before May 3. To date, the virus has killed 2,308 of the state’s residents.

The following deaths were reported Thursday:

• Male between 45-64, Box Elder County resident, hospitalized at time of death
• Male, between 45-64, Utah County resident, hospitalized at time of death
• Male, between 65-84, Washington County resident, hospitalized at time of death

Nationwide Numbers

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Coronavirus Resources

Have you or a family member been affected by coronavirus issues in Utah? KSL wants to hear from you. Contact KSL by emailing social@ksl.com.

Click here to sign up for a vaccine and here to see how Utah’s vaccine rollout is progressing.

The latest COVID-19 stories from KSL can be found here.

How do I prevent it?

The CDC has some simple recommendations, most of which are the same for preventing other respiratory illnesses or the flu:

• Avoid close contact with people who may be sick
• Avoid touching your face
• Stay home when you are sick
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and then throw the tissue in the trash
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. Always wash your hands with soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.
• If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies.)