facebook-pixel

Another 14 Utahns die of COVID-19 as ICUs remain near capacity

The Utah Department of Health reported more than 3,800 new cases from over the weekend.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Claire Quick administers COVID-19 vaccinations at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021.

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 morning. To support journalism like this, please donate or become a subscriber.

Fourteen more Utahns have died of COVID-19 in the past three days, bringing the number of Utahns who have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began to 3,442, according to the Utah Department of Health.

More than half of those who died over the weekend were under the age of 65 — six were between the ages of 45-64, and two were between the ages of 25-44.

The Health Department reported 3,829 new coronavirus cases in the past three days — 1,578 cases on Friday, 1,231 on Saturday and 1,051 on Sunday for an average of just over 1,276 per day. The rolling seven-day average of new positive cases stands at 1,539. (The Health Department no longer reports COVID-19 statistics on weekends. The number of tests and confirmed cases generally declines on weekends.)

The number of children getting vaccinated continues to climb — 57,205 children ages 5-11 have gotten a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine since they became eligible; that’s about 15.7% of kids that age in Utah, according to UDOH.

Intensive care units in the state remain near capacity. According to the Health Department, 90.8% of all ICU beds and 92.5% of ICU beds in larger medical centers are occupied. (Hospitals consider any figure over 85% to be functionally full). Of all ICU patients, 44.6% are being treated for COVID-19.

Vaccine doses administered in the past three days/total doses administered • 37,039 / 4,045,450.

Number of Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,792,141.

Cases reported in past three days • 3,829.

Cases among school-age children • Kids in grades K-12 accounted for 856 of the new cases announced Monday — 22.4% of the total. There were 469 cases reported in children aged 5-10; 189 cases in children 11-13; and 198 cases in children 14-18.

Tests reported in past three days • 23,638 people were tested for the first time. A total of 48,595 people were tested.

Deaths reported in past three days • 14.

Six of the deaths occurred in Salt Lake County — two men and a woman between the ages of 45-64, a woman 65-84, and two men 85-plus.

There were three deaths in Washington County — two men 45-64 and a woman 65-84.

Other deaths were a Box Elder County woman 65-84; a Davis County man 25-44; a Sevier County man 85-plus; a Utah County man 25-44; and a Weber County man 45-64.

Hospitalizations reported in the past three days • 527. That is six fewer than reported on Friday. Of those currently hospitalized, 211 are in intensive care, three fewer than reported on Friday.

Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 16.2% over the past three days. That is lower than the seven-day average of 16.8%.

The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Monday’s rate was 7.9%, lower than the seven-day average of 10.7%.

[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 16.4 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to a Utah Department of Health analysis. The unvaccinated also were 9.9 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 4.3 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.

Totals to date • 586,758 cases; 3,442 deaths; 25,486 hospitalizations; 3,908,168 people tested.