FILE PHOTO: COVID-19 vaccine

Reacting to recent COVID-19 case counts and deaths, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said Thursday the state expects record case numbers for the next few weeks from the Omicron variant.

The good news is we have the tools to beat this, but they only work if we use them,“ he said. “If, for whatever reason, you have been putting off getting vaccinated or boosted now is the time. Vaccinations and boosters have been shown to reduce hospitalizations and deaths. They are the most important thing you can do to protect yourself, your loved ones and your community.”

The Governor thanked Utah’s healthcare workers for their hard work and sacrifices over the last two years of the pandemic.

Thursday the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) reported another record-setting day of coronavirus case counts with 8,913 new positives, 1,666 more than Wednesday’s previous record. Included in Thursday’s new cases are 316 in northern Utah.

Since Wednesday, 13 more Utahns died of COVID-19 as the state approaches 4,000 total deaths. That includes 197 in Cache, Box Elder and Rich counties.

Since the pandemic started, there have been 672,567 positive cases in Utah, 37,123 in Cache, Box Elder and Rich counties. Since the outbreak began 1,707 in the Bear River Health District have been hospitalized.

For the second day in a row, Utah’s new rolling seven-day average for positive tests has ballooned, this time to 5,083 a day.

With 12,984 people vaccinated since Wednesday, the number of Utahns fully vaccinated stands at more than 1.91 million, 58 percent of the state’s population. More than 4.6 million doses have been administered.

There are now 98,109 in northern Utah who are totally vaccinated which is 65.7 percent of the district’s population. 209,419 total doses have been administered in the Bear River Health District. Total population of Cache, Box Elder and Rich counties is 186,818.

Hospitalizations reported Thursday amount to 530 Utahns which is 35 more than on Wednesday and 188 are in intensive care.

Idaho’s Thursday COVID update indicates 4,192 coronavirus deaths and a new total of confirmed COVID-19 cases is 323,965 statewide. New case counts in the three southeast Idaho counties include 1,890 total positives in Franklin County, 757 in Bear Lake County and 610 in Oneida County.



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