The death toll is approaching 2,000 as Salt Lake County launches a campaign to promote vaccines.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Heidi Enger prepares for Covid 19 vaccines, at Calvary Baptist Church in Salt Lake City, Monday, March 1, 2021.
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For the third day in a row, Utah reported fewer than 500 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. That number increased by 230 from Monday, but the number of tests more than doubled, from around 6,500 on Sunday to more than 14,500 on Monday.
The death toll continued to rise, with nine more deaths reported Tuesday. Two of them occurred before February 9 and only recently were confirmed to be related to the coronavirus.
Vaccines administered on the last day / total vaccinations • 20,268 / 741,297.
Number of Utahns who have received two doses • 263,173.
Cases reported the day before • 487.
Deaths reported the day before • Nine.
Salt Lake County reported two deaths: a woman between the ages of 65 and 84 and a woman over the age of 85.
There were also two deaths in Utah County: a man aged 65 to 84 and a man over the age of 85.
Five counties reported one death each: a 65- to 84-year-old man in Davis County; a 45-64-year-old man in Summit County; a 65-84-year-old man in Tooele County; a man aged 65 to 84 in Washington County; and a 45-64-year-old woman in Weber County.
Hospitalizations reported the day before • 213 That’s one down since Monday. Of those currently hospitalized, 92 are in intensive care units, three more than Monday.
Tests reported the day before • 5,582 people were tested for the first time. A total of 14,540 people were evaluated.
Percentage of positive tests • According to the original state method, the rate is 8.7%. That’s lower than the seven-day average of 10.5%.
His new method counts all test results, including repeated tests on the same individual. Tuesday’s rate is now at 3.3%, lower than the seven-day average of 4.9%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 371,979 cases; 1,949 deaths; 14,753 hospitalizations; 2,214,506 people tested.
Also Tuesday, the Salt Lake County Health Department unveiled its new public awareness campaign and website, built around the theme “This is our chance.” The ad will direct residents to ThisIsOurShot.com for information on COVID-19 vaccines – who’s eligible, where to get vaccinated, and more.
“It is important that we inform Salt Lake County residents and others in our community in a timely and direct manner, as details and information change frequently,” said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson in a release.
Headlines include: “This is our chance. Let’s take it, ”“ This is our chance. To hug again, ”“ This is our chance. It’s here, it’s effective, it’s free ”and“ This is our chance. To get back to normal. “
“Our primary goal is to encourage people living in Salt Lake County and surrounding areas about the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID through outreach, education and awareness,” said Gary Edwards, executive director of the Department. Salt Lake County Health Department in a statement. “A secondary goal of this campaign is to be a resource for accurate information.”