Utah reports 27 more deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday



[ad_1]

The state reported 53 deaths in two days.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) University of Utah Health begins administering second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as pharmacy resident Chanah Gallagher prepares to give registered nurse Christy Mulder at MICU, his second dose Thursday, January 7, 2021.

Editor’s Note: The Salt Lake Tribune offers free access to critical stories about the coronavirus. Register for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every morning of the week. To support journalism like this, please make a donation or become a subscriber.
As county health departments across the state struggle to register former Utahns to receive COVID-19 vaccines, the death toll continues to rise. Another 27 deaths were reported by the Utah Department of Health on Wednesday, some dating back to December.

The state is approaching 90% of the capacity of its intensive care beds – 482 of the 537 beds are occupied (89.8%). And 40.2% of intensive care patients are hospitalized for COVID-19.

But the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests has dropped to 23.62% after hovering around 30% last the week.

Vaccinations reported the day before / total vaccinations • 14.354 / 124.884.

Cases reported the day before • 2.899.

Deaths reported the day before • 27.

Deaths reported on Wednesday • Nine of the deaths reported Wednesday occurred before Dec. 23 and are being reported now because, according to the Utah Department of Health, the Medical Examiner’s Office is “conducting extensive investigations into all potential COVID-related deaths,” which “Can take several weeks to complete. “

All but five of the deaths were people aged 65 and over.

There have been nine deaths in Washington County, the youngest being a woman between the ages of 25 and 44. A man and a woman were between 45 and 64 years old, and two men and a woman were between 65 and 84 years old. Two men and a woman were over 85 years old.

There have been six deaths in Utah County. Two men were between 45 and 64 years old and two others were between 65 and 84 years old. A man and a woman were over 85 years old.

Several counties have reported two deaths: Salt Lake County, a man aged 45 to 64 and a woman aged 65 to 84; Tooele County, two women aged 65 to 84; Uintah County, a man and a woman, aged 65 to 84; and Weber County, a man and a woman aged 65 to 84.

There was one death each in Carbon County (one man aged 65 to 84); Davis County (male over 85); Iron County (female, 65 to 84); and Juab County (a woman over 85).

Hospitalizations reported the day before • 566. That is six since Tuesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 194 are in intensive care units – seven more than Tuesday.

Tests reported the day before • 12.272.

Percentage of positive tests • 23.62%. This is below the seven-day average of 27.8%.

Totals to date • 314,817 cases; 1,449 deaths; 12,160 hospitalizations; 1,855,385 tests.

The UDOH changed the way it reports positive cases on Wednesday, adding 2,289 overdue cases to the state’s overall total of 314,817, in addition to the 2,899 new cases reported the day before.

Some of these older cases were identified as early as June 2020, but were not included in the ministry’s case tally due to incomplete or unverified address information for those who tested positive. Starting Wednesday, UDOH will report all positive tests unless the person can be verified as not being a resident of Utah.

[ad_2]

Source link