The Utah Department of Health reported nearly 1,500 new cases on Friday.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) School nurse Karen Thelin tests a student for COVID-19 at the American Preparatory Academy in Draper on Tuesday, September 14, 2021.
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Seventeen more Utahners died of COVID-19 last day, bringing the total death toll to 75 in the past week, according to the Utah Department of Health. The death toll in Utah has risen to 3,067 since the pandemic began.
Two of the deaths reported on Friday were people aged 25 to 44 and six were 45 to 64 years old.
The health department reported 1,493 new coronavirus cases on Friday. The 7-day rolling average for positive tests is 1,288 per day.
The intensive care units in the state remain almost at full capacity. According to the Utah Department of Health, 92.9% of all ICU beds and 96.1% of ICU beds in major medical centers are occupied. Of all intensive care patients, 43.2% suffer from COVID-19.
Last day, another 2,915 Utahners were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, bringing the total to 1,722,932 – 52.7% of the total Utah population.
Vaccine doses administered / total doses administered during the previous day • 10,304 / 3,605,421.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,722,932.
Cases reported on the previous day • 1,493.
Cases in School-Age Children • Children in grades K-12 made up 287 of the new cases reported on Friday – 19.2% of the total. 158 cases have been reported in children aged 5 to 10 years; 62 cases in children 11-13; and 68 cases in children between the ages of 14 and 18.
Tests Reported Last Day • 9,296 people were tested for the first time. A total of 17,535 people were tested.
Deaths reported on the last day • 17.
There were seven deaths in Salt Lake County: a woman between the ages of 25 and 44, a man and woman 45-64, a man and woman 65-84, and a man and woman over 85 years of age.
Kane County reported two deaths: one man 45-64 and one man 65-84. There were also two deaths in Utah County – a man 45-64 and a man 65-84 – and two deaths in Weber County: a woman 25-44 and a man 65-84.
Four counties each reported one death: a Cache County man aged 45 to 64; a woman from Tooele County 45-64; a man from Uintah County 65-84; and a man from Washington County 65-84.
Hospital stays reported on the last day • 559. That is 14 fewer than reported on Thursday. Of those currently hospitalized, 209 are in intensive care – four fewer than on Thursday.
Percentage of positive tests • According to the original state method, the rate is 16% over the last day. That’s a little more than the 7-day average of 15.7%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same person. The price on Friday was 8.6%, below the 7-day average of 10.4%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Risk Rates • In the past four weeks, unvaccinated Utahners were 12.6 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than vaccinated individuals, according to a UDOH analysis. The unvaccinated were also 11.6 times more likely to be hospitalized and 6.2 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.
Total numbers so far • 529,147 cases; 3,067 deaths; 23,066 hospital stays; 3,582,749 people tested.
Two more schools reached the state-set threshold for a COVID-19 outbreak this fall, bringing the total to eight.
Edgemont Elementary in the Provo School District hit that level this week when more than 30 of its 500 students tested positive. It held a test-to-stay event with a “high number of positive results” [were] identified among students and employees. ”The Utah County Department of Health recommended that the school migrate to virtual learning for three days, October 11-13, before the fall break.
Foothill Elementary in the Box Elder School District also hit the threshold this week and will host a Test to Stay event. This includes testing all students with parental permission. Those who test negative can return to class in person; those who test positive or refuse to take the test must stay home for two weeks.
– Tribune reporter Courtney Tanner contributed to this story.
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