Hospitalizations on the rise as Utah COVID-19 case counts jump more than 33% in past week

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK

In the United States 83,281,329 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,002,173 people have died as of May 22.

New coronavirus cases leaped in Utah in the week ending Sunday, rising 33.1% as 4,504 cases were reported. The previous week had 3,385 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Utah ranked 31st among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 31.8% from the week before, with 796,108 cases reported. With 0.96% of the country's population, Utah had 0.57% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 42 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

More:COVID-19 case rates are rising again in Utah. Here is what healthcare leaders think that means

Within Utah, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Summit County with 301 cases per 100,000 per week; Salt Lake County with 205; and Wasatch County with 153. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

A nurse vaccinates a person in a clinic while wearing protective equipment.

Adding the most new cases overall were Salt Lake County, with 2,374 cases; Utah County, with 655 cases; and Davis County, with 473. Weekly case counts rose in six counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Utah ranked 28th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 72.1% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 77.7%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Wednesday, Utah reported administering another 26,848 vaccine doses, including 3,326 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 10,967 vaccine doses, including 1,555 first doses. In all, Utah reported it has administered 5,212,257 total doses.

In Utah, four people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, one person was reported dead.

A healthcare professional giving a shot to a child.

A total of 943,368 people in Utah have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 4,765 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 83,281,329 people have tested positive and 1,002,173 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Utah's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, May 22.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

Last week: 180
The week before that: 143
Four weeks ago: 79

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

Last week: 53,333
The week before that: 49,215
Four weeks ago: 39,443

Hospitals in 31 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 29 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 37 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.