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No county in Utah currently has a high risk of COVID-19 transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meaning it does not recommend mask mandates anywhere in the state.
A week ago, Tooele and San Juan counties were considered high risk, and the CDC suggested mask mandates there. None were instituted, however. As of this week, those two counties are at the medium risk level, along with most of the rest of the state. In medium areas, people at high risk of serious illness from COVID are advised to exercise caution and wear masks.
Carbon, Emery, Juab, Millard, Sevier, Utah and Wayne counties are listed as low transmission; the rest of the state is considered at medium transmission.
On Friday, the Utah Department of Health reported 261 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the eighth day in a row that daily count has been 480 or less.
It also marked 15 consecutive days in which 844 or fewer new cases have been reported each day. Friday’s total of 261 is the second lowest tally in that time; only 175 on Feb. 27 was lower.
That stands in stark contrast to the omicron variant surge in January and early February, when the number of new cases in a day peaked at 13,521 on Jan. 14. That’s almost 52 times the number reported on Friday.
The health department on Friday also reported 11 additional deaths, bringing Utah’s total to 4,453 since the pandemic began nearly two years ago. One of the deaths occurred before Feb. 4 and only recently was confirmed to have been caused by COVID-19.
Officials on Friday also reported 287 patients hospitalized in Utah with COVID-19, 12 fewer patients than reported Thursday, and 66 COVID-19 patients in Utah’s intensive care units — up two from Thursday.
ICU occupancy rates were up slightly. Officials reported that 75.6% of all Utah ICU beds were occupied, compared with 74.3% the day before. ICUs in the state’s larger “referral” hospitals were at 79.8% capacity, higher than Thursday’s 76.9%.
Both ICU capacity figures Friday were below the 85% threshold that hospital administrators have said is necessary to leave room for unpredictable staffing levels, new patients and availability of specialized equipment and personnel.
Of all ICU patients in the state, 16.8% were hospitalized because of COVID-19.
A UDOH analysis continues to show that booster shots significantly decrease Utahns’ chances of dying of COVID-19. Over the past four weeks:
• An unvaccinated person who contracts the virus is 5.1 times more likely to die than a fully vaccinated person, and 16.3 times more likely than a person who has received a booster dose.
• An unvaccinated person who contracts the virus is 2.4 times more likely to be hospitalized than a fully vaccinated person, and six times more likely than a person who has received a booster dose.
• An unvaccinated person is 1.9 times as likely to contract the virus than a fully vaccinated person, and 2.1 times more likely than a person who has received a booster dose.
According to state data, 61.1% of Utahns were fully vaccinated as of Friday. However, just 26.9% of all Utahns have received a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Find where to get vaccinated at coronavirus.utah.gov/vaccine-distribution. Find where to get tested at coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-covid-19-testing-locations.
Breakdown of updated figures
Vaccine doses administered in the past day/total doses administered • 2,477 / 4,956,776.
Number of Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,986,555 — 61.1% of Utah’s total population. That is an increase of 745 in the past day.
Cases reported during the past day • 261.
Vaccination status • Health officials do not immediately have or release the vaccination status of individuals who test positive, who are hospitalized or who die. They do calculate the overall risk ratios of these outcomes depending on vaccination status, which is listed above.
Tests reported in the past day • A total of 9,715 people were tested.
Deaths reported in the past day • 11. One of the deaths occurred before Feb. 4.
There were four deaths in Salt Lake County — a woman between the ages of 45-64, and a man and two women 65-84. And two Davis County residents died — a man and a woman 65-84.
Five other counties each reported a single death — a woman 65-84 in Cache County; a man 85-plus in Uintah County; a man 45-64 in Utah County; a man 85-plus in Washington County; and a man 85-plus in Weber County.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate was 8% in the past day. That is lower than the seven-day average of 11.9%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Friday’s rate was 3.6%, lower than the seven-day average of 7.3%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 924,248 cases; 4,453 deaths; 33,421 hospitalizations; 9,263,901 tests administered.
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