ALL NEWS

New COVID-19 cases in Utah averaging nearly 1,300 per day

UPDATED: OCTOBER 15, 2021 AT 3:24 PM

FILE: Teachers gather in the gym for a beginning-of-the-year meeting at Freedom Preparatory Academy as they begin to prepare to restart school (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

BY SIMONE SEIKALY
Digital Content Producer

SALT LAKE CITY — New cases of COVID-19 in Utah have been hovering around 1,300 each day during the past week, and today that number was even higher. The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) reported 1,493 new cases on Friday.

In total, 529,147 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Utah since the pandemic began.

RELATED: Utah doctors report increasing COVID-19 cases, strained ICUs, staff leaving

In addition, UDOH reported 559 Utahns required hospitalization for COVID-19 on Friday. And another 17 Utahns died from coronavirus in UDOH’s latest report.

Screengrab from coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts/ Accessed Oct. 15, 2021

COVID-19 and Utah school-age children

Utah health officials said of the 1,493 new cases, 287 occurred among school-age children. Broken down, there were 158 new cases among children ages 5 – 10, 61 new cases among children ages 11 – 13 and 68 new cases among teens ages 14 – 17.

UDOH began providing a breakdown of COVID-19 cases in school-aged children on Aug. 20, 2021. Before that, those specific numbers were only available on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard.

Vaccines and risk assessment

Also, 10,304 additional Utahns received the COVID-19 vaccine in the latest UDOH numbers. To date, health officials in the state have administered 3,604,421 vaccine doses.

During the last 28 days, the risk of coming down with COVID-19 is four times greater for unvaccinated Utahns. For hospitalization, the risk to the unvaccinated is 11.6 times greater than that of vaccinated Utahns. And health officials report unvaccinated Utahns face a risk of death that is 8.9 times greater than that faced by vaccinated Utahns, according to UDOH.

Rolling averages of COVID-19 in Utah and trends

The rolling 7-day average for positive COVID-19 tests in Utah is 1,288 per day.

Health officials report an increase of 9,296 Utahns tested for COVID-19 since the day before, and an increase of 17,535 tests performed.

That means the rolling 7-day average of people testing positive in Utah is 15.7%, and the rolling 7-day average of total positive test results is 10.4%, according to UDOH.

How To Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 Coronavirus

COVID-19 coronavirus spreads person to person, similar to the common cold and the flu. So, to prevent it from spreading:

Wash hands frequently and thoroughly, with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds.
Don’t touch your face.
Wear a mask to protect yourself and others per CDC recommendations.
Keep children and those with compromised immune systems away from someone who is coughing or sneezing (in this instance, at least six feet).
If there is an outbreak near you, practice social distancing (stay at home, instead of going to the movies, sports events, or other activities).
Obtain a flu shot.
Seek out the COVID-19 vaccine.