facebook-pixel

Utah’s COVID-19 death toll is now more than 3,500

Another 21 die over the weekend. And 55.1% of Utahns are fully vaccinated.

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.

More than 3,500 Utahns have died of COVID-19 — 21 more deaths over the weekend brought the total to 3,508 since the pandemic began, according to the Utah Department of Health.

Although most of those who died over the weekend were ages 65 and older, three were between the ages of 25-44.

The health department reported 2,476 new coronavirus cases in the past three days — 912 cases on Friday, 1,023 on Saturday and 562 on Sunday for an average of just over 825 per day. The rolling seven-day average of new positive cases stands at 1,123. (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 — 65,740 children ages 5-11 have gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine since they became eligible; that’s about 18% of kids that age in Utah, according to the health department.

Intensive care units in the state remain near capacity. UDOH reported Monday that 91.1% of all ICU beds in Utah and 97% of ICU beds in larger medical centers in the state 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 • 20,393 / 4,122,501.

Number of Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,801,754 — 55.1% of Utah’s total population. That’s an increase of 4,300 in the past three days.

Cases reported in past three days • 2,476.

Cases among school-age children • Kids in grades K-12 accounted for 465 of the new cases announced Monday — 18.8% of the total. There were 233 cases reported in children aged 5-10; 104 cases in children 11-13; and 128 cases in children 14-18.

Tests reported in past three days • 15,854 people were tested for the first time. A total of 31,346 people were tested.

Deaths reported in past three days • 21.

Salt Lake County reported five deaths: Two men 25-44, two men 65-84, and a woman 85-plus. There were also five deaths in Utah County: Two men 64-84, and three men 85-plus.

Four counties each reported two deaths: A man 25-44, and a man 65-84 in Davis County; a woman 65-84, and a woman 85-plus in Millard County; a man and a woman 65-84 in Tooele County; and a man 65-84, and a man 85-plus in Washington County.

Other deaths were a Cache County man 65-84; an Iron County man 85-plus; and a Weber County man 65-84.

Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 525. That is 19 more than reported on Friday. Of those currently hospitalized, 210 are in intensive care, four more than reported on Friday.

Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 15.6% in the past three days. That is higher than the seven-day average of 15.1%.

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%.

[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 16.1 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to a Utah Department of Health analysis. The unvaccinated also were 10.8 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 4.2 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.

Totals to date • 594,606 cases; 3,508 deaths; 25,819 hospitalizations; 3,960,315 people tested.