Driven by delta variant, COVID-19 surges again in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — 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 has begun to surge in Utah over the past month and now represents about 80% 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.