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The number of new cases of COVID-19 continues to rise to levels not seen in seven months.
There were 1,685 new cases on Tuesday, according to the Utah Department of Health — the most in a single day since Jan. 27.
And the rolling seven-day average of new cases hit 1,289 — the highest that number has been since Feb. 2.
Almost a quarter of of the new cases — 411 — were among kids in grades K-12. There were 161 cases in children ages 5-10; 105 cases in children 11-13; and 145 cases in children 14-18.
Six more Utahns died of the coronavirus in the past day. One of them was under the age of 45.
In the past four weeks, unvaccinated Utahns were 4.8 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to a UDOH analysis. The unvaccinated were also 5.7 times more likely to be hospitalized, and five times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.
An additional 3,740 Utahns were fully vaccinated in the past day, bringing the total to 1,582,816 — 48.4% of Utah’s total population.
Vaccine doses administered in past day/total doses administered • 7,649 / 3,263,857.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,582,816.
Cases reported in past day • 1,685.
Deaths reported in past day • Six.
Five of the deaths occurred in Salt Lake County: A man between the ages of 25-44, two men and a woman 65-84, and a woman 85-plus.
A Davis County woman, 85-plus, also died.
Tests reported in past day • 12,974 people were tested for the first time. A total of 21,856 people were tested.
Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 489. That’s four more than on Tuesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 181 are in intensive care, five fewer than on Monday.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 13%. That’s lower than the seven-day average of 14.5%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Wednesday’s rate was 7.7%, lower than the seven-day average of 10.5%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 466,107 cases; 2,640 deaths; 20,277 hospitalizations; 3,152,201 people tested.
According to the UDOH, Utah has seen 10,631 “breakthrough” cases of COVID-19 — people who contracted the virus two weeks or more after being fully vaccinated. That’s 0.67% of people who are fully vaccinated.
Only 591 of those people required hospitalization — 0.037% of those fully vaccinated. And there have been 54 deaths — 0.0034% of those fully vaccinated.
