Utah nearly doubled the previous single-day record for new COVID-19 cases reporting 7,247 cases

Salt Lake City, Utah — According to the Utah Department of Health, 7,247 new COVID-19 cases are reported on Wednesday. The number of cases is more than the total number of cases reported in the state over the first 68 days of the pandemic.

The state’s previous single-day case record was 4,706 set on Dec. 30, 2020.

“Unfortunately, we can expect numbers this high and possibly higher for the next few weeks as Omicron sweeps through our community,” says Dr. Leisha Nolen, state epidemiologist at the Utah Department of Health.

The state also reported 44 new deaths, although 23 of them occurred before Dec. 1, 2021.

495 people in Utah are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, according to officials.

The rolling 7-day average for positive tests is now at 4,317 per day. The rolling 7-day average for percent positivity of “people over people” is 22.9%. and the rolling 7-day average for percent positivity of “tests over tests” is 15.5%.

Among the new cases, school-aged children accounted for 973 of them, including 361 cases in children ages 5-10, 193 cases in children ages 11-13, and 419 cases in children ages 14-18.

“In the last 28 days, people who are unvaccinated are at 16.8 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 9.2 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and 2.7 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than vaccinated people,” UDOH reports. “Since February 1, 2021, people who are unvaccinated are at 6.8 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 5.6 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and 2.3 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than vaccinated people.”

Utah’s death toll stands at 3,855 with 44 additional deaths reported Wednesday