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COVID-19 positivity rate remains high in Utah

Nearly a third tested positive on Sunday, and another four Utahns have died.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) University of Utah Health begins administering the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as pharmacy resident Chanah Gallagher gets ready to give Christy Mulder, an RN in the MICU, her second dose on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021.

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For the second day in a row, the Utah Department of Health reported four new deaths from the COVID-19 virus, a lower daily tally than last week. But the rate of positive tests remains high — nearly a third of those tested on Sunday were positive.

Vaccinations reported in past day/total vaccinations • 738 / 103,547.

Cases reported in past day • 1,484.

Deaths reported in past day • Four.

The four deaths reported Monday • There were two deaths in Utah County (a man and a woman ages 45-64); one in Salt Lake County (a woman 65-84) and one in Beaver County (a man 65-84).

Hospitalizations reported in past day • 554. That’s up 13 from Sunday. Of those currently hospitalized, 189 are in intensive care units — the same as on Sunday.

Tests reported in past day • 4,737.

Percentage of positive tests • 31.33%. This is slightly higher than the seven-day average of 30.5%.

Totals to date • 307,483 cases; 1,396 deaths; 11,940 hospitalizations; 1,831,122 tests.