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More than 20 months after the first Utahn died of COVID-19, the state’s coronavirus death toll continues to rise.
The Utah Department of Health on Monday reported 29 more COVID-19 deaths over the weekend. In the month of October, the state reported 294 total deaths — 9.1% of the state’s 3,227 total deaths since the pandemic began.
Ten of the deaths reported Monday were Utahns under the age of 65. Of those, three were between the ages of 25-44, and seven were 45-64.
At the Capitol on Monday, the Health Department and the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs hosted a Dia de los Muertos event and display that recognized the more than 3,000 Utahns who have died of COVID-19. Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Latin American holiday in which friends and relatives traditionally remember and celebrate loved ones who have died with colorful altars, or ofrendas.
The event was meant to recognize “the collective loss Utahns have felt,” according to a news release. Representatives from the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs as well as the Health Department, Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition and Utah Division of Indian Affairs spoke at the event, along with the display’s creator, Rocio Mejia, executive director of Una Mana Amiga, a peer mentoring group geared at helping Hispanic students.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jake Fitisemanu Jr., of the Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition, holds a picture of Margarita Satini, who died from COVID-19, at an event commemorating Dia de los Muertos at the Utah State Capitol, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. Dia de los Muertos is a Latin American holiday that celebrates relatives that have died in the past. The event recognized the over 3,200 Utahns that have died from COVID-19.
The Health Department on Monday also reported 3,179 new coronavirus cases over the weekend — 1,615 cases were reported on Friday, 637 on Saturday and 973 on Sunday for an average of almost 1,058 per day.
The Health Department no longer reports COVID-19 statistics on weekends. The number of tests and cases generally declines on weekends. (The state removed 46 cases from the total count after further testing.)
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests stands at 1,506 per day.
An additional 4,586 Utahns were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in the past three days, bringing the total to 1,754,587 — 53.6% of Utah’s total population.
Intensive care units in the state remain near capacity. According to the Health Department, 90.6% of all ICU beds and 92.3% of ICU beds in larger medical centers are occupied. Of all ICU patients, 44.5% are being treated for COVID-19.
Vaccine doses administered in the past three days/total doses administered • 27,759 / 3,759,031.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,754,587.
Cases reported in past three days • 3,179.
Cases among school age children • Kids in grades K-12 accounted for 594 of the new cases announced Monday — 18.7% of the total. There were 315 cases reported in children aged 5-10; 127 cases in children 11-13; and 152 cases in children 14-18.
Tests reported in past three days • 18,094 people were tested for the first time. A total of 41,435 people were tested.
Deaths reported in past three days • 29.
There were 13 deaths in Salt Lake County — two men and three women between the ages of 45-64; three men and three men 65-84; and a man and a woman 85-plus.
Utah County reported five deaths — a woman 45-64, as well as three men and a woman 65-84. And there were four deaths in Washington County — a woman 25-44, as well as two women and a man 65-84.
Two Davis County residents died — both men 65-84. Box Elder County also reported two deaths — a woman 25-44, and a woman 65-84.
Three counties each reported a single death — a man 85-plus in Cache County; a man 25-44 in Tooele County; and a man 45-64 in Uintah County.
Hospitalizations reported in the past three days • 534. That is one fewer than reported on Friday. Of those currently hospitalized, 210 are in intensive care — five more than reported Friday.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 17.3% over the past three days. That is higher than the seven-day average of 17.1%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Monday’s rate was 7.7%, lower than the seven-day average of 11.3%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Risk ratios • In the past four weeks, unvaccinated Utahns were 15.8 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to a Utah Department of Health analysis. The unvaccinated also were 11 times more likely to be hospitalized and 5.2 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.
Totals to date • 553,061 cases; 3,237 deaths; 24,147 hospitalizations; 3,716,117 people tested.
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