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The Utah Department of Health on Sunday reported no additional deaths caused by COVID-19, as the number of Utahns who are fully vaccinated against the virus reached almost 565,000.
Deaths in the past week have decreased dramatically compared to the week prior. Only 18 have people died from the coronavirus in the past seven days. From March 22 to March 28, 52 people died.
In two of the past seven days, the health department reported no new deaths. In the other five days, the number of new deaths did not reach double digits.
However, the number of deaths reported by the UDOH can sometimes be delayed as cases are investigated.
Vaccine doses administered in past day/total doses administered • 14,350 / 1,495,713.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 564,824.
This past week, the state reached the milestone of having a half-million of its residents fully vaccinated. It happened on the same day the state reported more than 46,000 administered vaccines in one day.
The rate of vaccinations seems to have lowered the transmission rate of the virus. Gov. Spencer Cox said Thursday that no county in Utah is considered “high transmission” anymore. They’re either “low” or “moderate.”
Cases reported in past day • 344.
The daily case number has also seen a downward trend in the past week. From March 22 to March 28, nearly 3,000 people were diagnosed with COVID-19. In the past seven days, that number dipped to nearly 2,800.
While the decline in cases is a welcome data point, the health department’s coronavirus dashboard indicates that the state’s cases have been on a plateau for about two weeks. Before then, Utah was in a decline since about mid-February.
As of Sunday, 225 cases of the disease’s B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the U.K., have been found in Utah, accounting for 2% of sequenced cases, per the health department.
Deaths reported in past day • None.
Tests reported in past day • 5,216 people were tested for the first time. A total of 9,210 people were tested.
Hospitalizations reported in past day • 129. That’s down three from Saturday. Of those currently hospitalized, 45 are in intensive care units, one more than on Saturday.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 6.5%. That’s lower than the seven-day average of 7.0%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Sunday’s rate was 3.7%, higher than the seven-day average of 3.4%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 387,341 cases; 2,132 deaths; 15,608 hospitalizations; 2,411,082 people tested.
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