Utah reports 13 deaths, more than 2,500 coronavirus cases in the past 3 days

The 7-day rolling average for new cases is 978, the lowest value since August 16.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) People will be tested for COVID-19 at the Salt Lake Public Health Center at 200 East and 600 South in Salt Lake City on Monday, December 20, 2021.

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On Monday, the Utah Department of Health reported 2,522 new coronavirus cases in the past three days. 910 new cases were documented on Friday, 863 on Saturday and 749 new cases on Sunday, an average of almost 841 per day.

After further analysis, the health department also reported Monday that 22 cases previously included in the nationwide totals have been removed. It’s unclear why the cases were originally counted, but a health department official said such corrected discrepancies in the past were due to counting errors, retests, or both.

The 7-day rolling average for new cases is 978, the lowest value since August 16.

The health department also reported 13 more COVID-19 deaths in the past three days. Six were people under 65 years of age – one between the ages of 25 and 44 and five between the ages of 45 and 64. So far this month the state has reported 129 deaths.

The number of children being vaccinated continues to rise: 88,027 children aged 5 to 11 have received at least one dose since it was approved. That’s 24.1% of children that age in Utah, according to the Department of Health. And 52,947 of those children were fully vaccinated – 14.5% of that age group.

The intensive care units in the state remain almost fully utilized. UDOH reported Friday that 94.8% of all ICU beds in Utah and 98.9% of ICU beds in major medical centers in the state are occupied. (Hospitals consider anything above 85% functional.) Of all ICU patients, 39.3% are being treated for COVID-19.

Vaccine doses given / total doses given in the last 3 days • 30,838 / 4,434,660.

Number of Utahns Fully Vaccinated • 1,880,852 – 57.5% of the total Utah population. That’s an increase from 5,434 in the last three days.

Cases reported in the last three days • 2,522.

Cases in School-Age Children • K-12 children accounted for 376 of the new cases reported Monday – 14.9% of the total. 171 cases have been reported in children aged 5 to 10 years; 79 cases in children 11-13; and 126 cases in children between the ages of 14 and 18.

Tests reported in the last three days • 24,470 people were tested for the first time. A total of 47,475 people were tested.

Deaths reported in the past three days • 13.

There were fourth deaths in Utah County – a man and a woman between the ages of 65 and 84 and two men over the age of 85. Washington County reported three deaths – two men 45-64 and one man 65-84.

There were two deaths in Salt Lake County – a man aged 25 to 44 and a man aged 45 to 64. There were also two deaths in Weber County – a man aged 45 to 64 and a woman over 85 years old.

Other deaths included a man aged 45 to 64 in Cache County and a man over 85 in Uintah County.

Hospital stays reported in the last three days • 453. That is 58 fewer than reported on Friday. Of the people currently hospitalized, 192 are in intensive care, four fewer than reported on Friday.

Percentage of positive tests • According to the original state method, the rate is 10.3% in the last three days. That’s less than the 7-day average of 12.3%.

The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests on the same person. The price on Monday was 5.3%, below the seven-day average of 8.5%.

[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 14.7 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to an analysis by the Utah Department of Health. The unvaccinated were 9.9 times more likely to be hospitalized and 3.7 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.

Total numbers so far • 620,197 cases; 3,717 deaths; 27,035 hospital stays; 4,146,047 people tested.

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