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Utah’s coronavirus cases rose 3,674 on Saturday, with 14 more deaths

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Shoppers and commuters wear masks in downtown Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020.

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Health officials in Utah reported 3,674 new coronavirus cases Saturday, along with 14 more deaths, as roughly one in four of all COVID-19 tests administered in the state are coming back with positive results.

The Utah Department of Health reported that four men and 10 women had died, three of them over age 85, nine between ages 65 and 84 and one resident of a long-term care facility in Utah County who was between 45 and 64.

That brings the state’s death count due to the worldwide viral outbreak to 939, with nearly 314 of those deaths coming within the past 30 days — the highest toll for a single month since the crisis began in March.

Health officials reported 14,838 new tests Saturday. Utah’s seven-day average for the share of positive results among those is now at 25.5%, the health department said, up from 25.2% the day before.

The 14 fatalities reported Saturday included:

• Four residents over 85, two from Salt Lake County and two from Utah County.

• Four Salt Lake County residents, three from Utah County and one each from Washington and Weber counties who were all between 64 and 84.

• A Utah County resident between 45 and 64.

The number of residents hospitalized for COVID-19 in Utah rose to 603, the first time that number has exceeded 600, as medical officials continue warn that Utah’s hospitals are nearing their capacity for intensive medical care.

The state has reported a total of 8,765 hospitalizations since the crisis started, with more than 700 of those occurring in the past week alone.