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Utahns hospitalized for COVID-19 drop below 300 as vaccination rates keep rising

Utah reports 943 new cases, and 5 more deaths.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Nurse Angie Boren and fellow members of the Community Nursing staff vaccinated over 2200 employees of the Jordan School District at West Hills Middle School, Feb. 12, 2021.

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For the first time since late October, the number of Utahns hospitalized for COVID-19 fell below 300, a sign the pandemic’s grip on health resources may be easing. Utah officials also reported their third consecutive day of dispensing at least 20,000 doses of the vaccine.

Vaccinations reported in past day/total vaccinations • 22,473 / 512,189.

Number of Utahns who have received two doses • 153,307.

Cases reported in past day • 943.

Deaths reported in past day • 5.

  • A male Iron County resident, between 65-84, hospitalized at time of death.

  • A male Salt Lake County resident, between 45-64, not hospitalized at time of death.

  • A female Tooele County resident, between 65-84, hospitalized at time of death.

  • A female Utah County resident, between 45-64, hospitalized at time of death.

  • A male Utah County resident, older than 85, not hospitalized at time of death.

Hospitalizations reported in past day • 298. That’s down 14 from Friday and the first day below 300 since Oct. 26. Of those currently hospitalized, 116 are in intensive care units — 2 fewer than on Friday.

Tests reported in past day • 6,803 people were tested for the first time. A total of 18,233 people were tested on Friday.

Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 13.9%. That’s slightly lower than the seven-day average of 14.4%.

Its new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. That rate is now at 5.2%, lower than the seven-day average of 6.4%.

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

Totals to date • 360,584 cases; 1,790 deaths; 14,151 hospitalizations; 3,584,792 tests.