facebook-pixel

Number of new COVID-19 cases in Utah climbs back above 500

The state also reported four more deaths and almost half a million people fully vaccinated.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Individuals experiencing homelessness were able to get assistance from the homeless court, as well as COVID-19 vaccinations and other services, on Rio Grande Street, as part of a Salt Lake City Community Commitment Program Resource Fair on Rio Grande Street, on Tuesday, March 30, 2021.

  | March 31, 2021, 7:22 p.m.
| Updated: 9:38 p.m.

Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing free access to critical stories about the coronavirus. Sign up for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every weekday morning. To support journalism like this, please donate or become a subscriber.

For the first time in a week, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Utah rose back above 500, even as the state closed in on half a million people fully vaccinated against the virus.

UDOH also reported four additional deaths caused by the coronavirus. All four occurred before March 1 and were only recently confirmed to have been the result of COVID-19.

Vaccine doses administered in past day/total doses administered • 32,341 / 1,364,203.

Utahns fully vaccinated • 499,419.

Cases reported in past day • 514.

Deaths reported in past day • Four, all occurring before March 1.

Salt Lake County reported three deaths: A man between the ages of 45-64 and two men 65-84. There was one death in Weber County, a man 45-64.

Tests reported in past day • 6,751 people were tested for the first time. A total of 16,617 people were tested.

Hospitalizations reported in past day • 135. That’s up one from Tuesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 56 are in intensive care units — one fewer than on Tuesday.

Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 7.6%. That’s higher than the seven-day average of 6.7%.

The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Wednesday’s rate was 3.1%, slightly lower than the seven-day average of 3.3%.

[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]

Totals to date • 385,641 cases; 2,122 deaths; 15,525 hospitalizations; 2,386,988 people tested.

According to the Davis County Sheriff’s Office, all prisoners in the county jail are being offered COVID-19 vaccines, and 209 inmates have received the first of two doses.

The jail is partnering with the Davis County Health Department to offer the voluntary vaccinations, which have been available to all prisoners since the state lowered the eligible age to 16 on March 24. Second vaccinations will be administered to those who remain in the jail, and a vaccination card will be issued to those who are released before they can receive a second dose so they can schedule it.

According to Sheriff Kelly V. Sparks, the “majority” of inmates have chosen to be vaccinated. “Offering vaccinations to those within the correctional facility is critical to positive public health everywhere,” Sparks said in a statement.

As of Wednesday, everyone who had tested positive for COVID-19 at the jail has recovered, there are no active cases, and there are no inmates with symptoms. New inmates are being quarantined for 14 days, and everyone at the jail is required to wear a face mask.