Utah counts 9 more deaths from COVID-19 on eve of mask mandate ending

SALT LAKE CITY — With a statewide mask mandate set to expire Saturday, nine more deaths in Utah were attributed to the coronavirus. So far, the state has lost 2,157 lives to COVID-19, though it is in a period of improving data and increasing vaccinations that are vastly outpacing new infections.

Deaths have been called a lagging statistic many times by many political and state leaders and Utah investigated deaths for COVID-19 as it does other deaths in the state.

Five of the the newly counted dead were from Salt Lake County, the hardest hit in number of deaths by the pandemic with 830. The county declined to extend its mask mandate. UDOH said one of the deaths reported on Feb. 21, was retracted Friday.

Eight of the nine newly reported deaths happened before March 18.

More Friday data from the Utah Department of Health is below in the story.

Though the statewide mask mandate ends Saturday, leaders are urging residents to continue to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Masks protect others from the wearer much more effectively than they protect those who wear masks. People can be infected with the coronavirus but not have symptoms or know they are sick, thereby spreading the virus that has proven deadly for thousands in Utah.

Globally, according to aggregate data site worldometers, 2,921,364 people have been killed b y the virus. That is three percent of the closed cases confirmed with the disease.

The Utah Legislature and Gov. Spencer Cox approved House Bill 294, which ends the statewide face covering mandate on Saturday, April 10.

Until every eligible person in Utah can be vaccinated, the three best and most simple steps we can all take to combat the spread of COVID-19 are masking, hand washing, and social distancing, according to the association.

“The better we are at wearing masks and following other COVID-19 guidelines now, the more confidently we can return to normalcy sooner than later and, most importantly, to improved public health,” a press release stated.

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said the state’s capital city will still have a mandate in place until more people can get the vaccine

UDOH REPORTED THE FOLLOWING DATA FRIDAY

Positives:

• We will report 389,353 positive cases today. This is an increase of 444 new cases since yesterday.

Vaccines:

• We will report 1,650,850 total vaccines administered which is 46,995 more than yesterday.

Lab Tests:

• We will report 2,436,569 people tested. This is an increase of 5,264 people tested since yesterday.
• We will report 4,352,241 total tests. This is an increase of 12,293 tests since yesterday.

Trends:

• The rolling 7-day average for positive tests is 402 per day.
• The rolling 7-day average for percent positivity of “people over people” is 7%. The rolling 7-day average for percent positivity of “tests over tests” is 3.4%.

Hospitalizations:

• There are 140 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19. Total hospitalizations from the beginning of the outbreak are 15,728.

Deaths:

We will report 2,157 total deaths which is 9 more deaths since yesterday. One death previously reported on February 21, 2021 has been retracted (Female, between 65-84, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death). Eight of the nine new deaths occurred before March 18, 2021.

1. Female, between 65-84, Salt Lake County resident, long-term care facility resident
2. Female, older than 85, Salt Lake County resident, long-term care facility resident
3. Female, between 65-84, Weber County resident, long-term care facility resident
4. Male, older than 85, Davis County resident, long-term care facility resident
5. Female, older than 85, Davis County resident, long-term care facility resident
6. Female, between 65-84, Salt Lake County resident, not hospitalized at time of death
7. Male, older than 85, Cache County resident, not hospitalized at time of death
8. Male, older than 85, Salt Lake County resident, not hospitalized at time of death
9. Male, between 65-84, Salt Lake County resident, not hospitalized at time of death

UTAH CUMULATIVE COVID-19 CASES BY WEEK — WEEKLY INCREASE

• Sun., March 15: 28 — 28
• Sun., March 22: 181 — +153
• Sun., March 29: 719 — +538
• Sun., April 5: 1,605 — +886
• Sun., April 12: 2,303 — +698
• Sun., April 19: 3,069 — +766
• Sun., April 26: 3,948 — +879
• Sun., May 3: 5,175 — +1,227
• Sun., May 10: 6,251 — +1,076
• Sun., May 17: 7,238 — +987
• Sun., May 24: 8,392 — +1,154
• Sun., May 31: 9,797 — +1,405
• Sun., June 7: 12,066 — +2, 269
• Sun., June 14: 14,313 — +2,247
• Sun., June 21: 17,462 — +3,149
• Sun., June 28: 21,100 — +3,638
• Sun., July 5: 24,952 — +3,852
• Sun., July 12: 29,484 — +4,532
• Sun., July 19: 34,117 — + 4,633
• Sun., July 26: 37,973 — + 3,856
• Sun., Aug. 2: 41, 175 — + 3,202
• Sun., Aug. 9: 44,127 — + 2,952
• Sun., Aug. 16: 46,652 — + 2,528
• Sun., Aug. 23: 49,115 — + 2,463
• Sun., Aug. 30: 51,854 — + 2,739
• Sun., Sept. 6: 54,660 — +2,806
• Sun., Sept. 13: 57,875 — +3,215
• Sun., Sept. 20: 63,772 — +5,897
• Sun., Sept. 27: 70,615 — +6,843
• Sun., Oct. 4: 77,618 — +7,003
• Sun., Oct. 11: 85,844 — +8,266
• Sun., Oct. 18: 94,394 — +8,550
• Sun. Oct 25: 104,882 — + 10,488
• Sun. Nov. 1: 116,510 — +11,628
• Sun., Nov. 8: 132,621 — +16,111
• Sun., Nov. 15: 153,808 — +21,187
• Sun., Nov. 22: 177,176 — +23,368
• Sun., Nov. 29: 193,809 — +16,633
• Sun., Dec. 6: 215,407 — +21,598
• Sun., Dec. 13: 233,904 — +18,497
• Sun., Dec. 20: 250,964 — +17,060
• Sun., Dec. 27: 264,874 — +13,910
• Sun., Jan. 3, 2021: 283,473 — + 18,599
• Sun., Jan. 10, 2021: 305,999 — + 22,526
• Sun., Jan. 17, 2021: 323,837 — + 17,838
• Sun., Jan. 24, 2021: 336,405 — + 12,568
• Sun., Jan. 31, 2021: 346,624 — + 10,219
• Sun., Feb. 7, 2021: 354,608 — + 7,984
• Sun., Feb. 14, 2021: 361,294 — +6,686
• Sun., Feb. 21, 2021: 366,735 — +5,441
• Sun., Feb. 28, 2021: 371,235 — +4,500
• Sun. March 7, 2021: 374,850 — +3,615
• Sun. March 14, 2021: 378,379 — +3,529
• Sun., March 21, 2021: 381,629 — +3,250
• Sun., March 28, 2021: 384,562 — +2,933
• Sun., April 4, 2021: 387,341 — +2,779