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Five more Utahns die from COVID-19 as number of cases continues to rise

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A sign details health guidelines during the current yellow (low-risk) phase of Utah's COVID-19 effort, at Sally Beauty in Sandy on Tuesday, June 23, 2020.

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Five more Utahns have died from the coronavirus and 34 have been hospitalized since Monday as the number of cases continues to rise.

Utah’s death toll from COVID-19 stood at 163 on Tuesday, the Utah Department of Health reported. The new deaths include three Salt Lake County men. One, between ages 45 and 64, was hospitalized when he died. Another, between 65 and 84, lived in a long-term care facility. The third man was in the same age range, but health officials did not know whether he was hospitalized or in long-term care.

It was not immediately clear whether any of those men were residents of the William E. Christoffersen Salt Lake Veterans Home, which announced Tuesday that two more residents at the Salt Lake City facility had died from COVID-19. According to the home’s operator, Avalon Health Care, 12 residents have died from the virus.

[Read more: Salt Lake City, County mayors call for statewide mask requirement as Gov. Gary Herbert says he won’t close economy again]

The two other Utahns who died were a Utah County man, between 65 and 84, and a Weber County man, older than 85. Both lived in long-term care facilities.

The state reported 394 new cases from 2,964 test results since Monday. 166 patients currently fill hospital beds in Utah. In total, 1,226 Utahns have been hospitalized for COVID-19.

Of the 18,300 patients diagnosed with the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, 10,057 are considered “recovered” — that is, they have survived for three weeks after being diagnosed.