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Utah reports more than 1,200 new coronavirus cases, 8 deaths

School-age children accounted for more than 1 in 5 new coronavirus cases.

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Eight more Utahns died of COVID-19 in the past day, according to the Utah Department of Health. Two were between the ages of 25-44, and one was 45-64.

The Health Department reported 1,253 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. The rolling seven-day average for positive tests stands at 1,311 per day.

ICUs in the state remain near capacity. According to the Utah Department of Health, 96.2% of all ICU beds and 98.2% of ICU beds in larger medical centers are occupied. Of all ICU patients, 42.5% are suffering from COVID-19.

An additional 2,371 Utahns were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in the past day, bringing the total to 1,720,020 — 52.6% of Utah’s total population.

Vaccine doses administered in past day/total doses administered • 9,041 / 3,595,117.

Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,720.020.

Cases reported in past day • 1,253.

Cases among school age children • Kids in grades K-12 accounted for 282 of the new cases announced Thursday — 22.5% of the total. There were 117 cases reported in children aged 5-10; 87 cases in children 11-13; and 78 cases in children 14-18.

Tests reported in past day • 7,876 people were tested for the first time. A total of 15,752 people were tested.

Deaths reported in past day • Eight.

There were two deaths in Salt Lake County — a man between the ages of 65-84 and a man 85 or older.

Other deaths were a Box Elder County man 65-84; a Cache County man 25-44; a Davis County man 45-64; a Tooele County man 65-84; a Uintah County man 65-84; and a Utah County woman 25-44.

Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 573. That’s 51 fewer than reported on Wednesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 213 are in intensive care — five fewer than Wednesday.

Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 15.9% over the past day. That’s slightly higher than the seven-day average of 15.7%.

The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Thursday’s rate was 8%, lower than the seven-day average of 10.4%.

[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]

Risk ratios • In the past four weeks, unvaccinated Utahns were 13.14 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to a Health Department analysis. The unvaccinated also were 11.3 times more likely to be hospitalized and 6.2 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.

Totals to date • 527,654 cases; 3,050 deaths; 23,009 hospitalizations; 3,573,453 people tested.