Utah experiencing surge in COVID-19 cases

Hospital leaders in Utah are renewing their pleas for people to get vaccinated as the state experiences another surge in COVID-19 cases from the faster-spreading delta variant.

State health officials told reporters Wednesday that the delta variant — first identified in India — has begun to surge in Utah over the past month and now represents about 80 per cent of cases in the state.

The surge is largely occurring in unvaccinated people who are being infected and hospitalized at six times the rate of vaccinated people.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, Utah now ranks fourth in the nation for new cases per capita.

Utah has averaged about 386 confirmed cases per day over the last week, nearly double the case rate the state was experiencing at its lowest point in early June. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 positivity rate in Nevada has more than doubled over the last month to 7.9 per cent, and health officials say the average number of new daily cases statewide has climbed to its highest level since February.

Meanwhile, Nevada reported its second death from the delta variant, a man in his 50s in Washoe County with an underlying health condition who had not been vaccinated. The delta variant was first identified in India.