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Utah hospitals and ICUs are treating fewer COVID-19 patients than they were over the weekend and case counts seem to be trending downward following a spike last month.
Monday’s case count is up slightly, compared to Sunday’s 660. But at 771, numbers are significantly lower than the thousands of cases per day recorded since the end of December, according to the Department of Health. On Friday and Saturday, case counts exceeded 1,000.
Positive tests have been trending downward since a peak of more than 13,000 in mid-January, as the virus’s omicron variant spread.
The department also reported 27 new COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, including three people who died prior to Jan. 15. There have been 4,326 deaths from COVID-19 in Utah since the pandemic began.
As of Tuesday, there were 117 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units throughout the state, which is down six since Monday. ICUs in the state’s larger “referral” hospitals were at 77.8% capacity, lower than 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.
ICUs in those larger hospitals had surpassed 85% occupancy almost continuously since late August, but numbers dropped below that threshold Monday.
Statewide, 74.5% of all ICU beds were filled as of Tuesday. And COVID-19 hospitalizations dropped from 561 patients to 529, the health department reported.
According to state data, 60.6% of Utahns were fully vaccinated as of Monday. However, researchers have found that a booster is crucial to prevent serious illness — and just 26.2% 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.
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