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Another 16 people are added to Utah’s COVID-19 death toll

The health department tallied more than 4,200 new cases over the weekend, and hospitalizations continue to rise.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Spencer Lowe administers a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a drive-thru event organized by the Utah County Health Department in Spanish Fork on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021.

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More than 4,200 Utahns tested positive for COVID-19 in the past three days — and more than 900 of them were school-age children.

There were 1,851 cases reported on Friday, 1,360 on Saturday, and 1,016 on Sunday, for a total of 4,227 and a daily average of 1,409, the Utah Department of Health announced Monday. (UDOH no longer issues updates on Saturdays and Sundays.)

The number of tests — and the number of new cases — generally decreases on the weekends, particularly on Sundays. UDOH also removed 14 earlier cases from its total after analyzing data.

Kids in grades K-12 accounted for 935 of those cases. There were 424 cases in children aged 5-10; 253 cases in children 11-13; and 258 cases in children 14-18.

The rolling seven-day average for positive tests stands at 1,545 per day — the highest that number has been since Jan. 28.

Sixteen more Utahns died of the coronavirus in the past three days. Six of them were under the age of 65, and three under the age of 45.

In the past four weeks, unvaccinated Utahns were 5.1 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to a UDOH analysis. The unvaccinated were also 6.8 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 5.9 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.

An additional 11,344 Utahns were fully vaccinated in the past three days, bringing the total to 1,626,253 — 50% of Utah’s total population.

Vaccine doses administered in past three days/total doses administered • 20,078 / 3,343,245.

Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,626,253.

Cases reported in past three days • 4,227

Deaths reported in past three days • 16.

Weber County reported four deaths: two men between the ages of 65 and 84, and two women 85-plus.

Washington County also reported four deaths: a man and a woman 25-44, a woman 45-64, and a man 65-84.

There were three deaths in Salt Lake County: a man and a woman 65-84, and a woman 85-plus.

Two Utah County residents died, both men 45-64. The other deaths were a Box Elder County woman 65-84, a Duchesne County man 25-44, and an Iron County man 65-84.

Tests reported in past three days • 29,581 people were tested for the first time. A total of 47,389 people were tested.

Hospitalizations reported in the past three days • 562. That’s 33 more than on Friday. Of those currently hospitalized, 223 are in intensive care, 23 more than on Friday.

Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 14.3% over the past three days. That’s higher than the seven-day average of 12.1%.

The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Monday’s rate was 8.9%, slightly lower than the seven-day average of 9.2%.

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

Totals to date • 3,289,487 cases; 2,740 deaths; 21,041 hospitalizations; 3,289,487 people tested.

According to the UDOH, Utah has seen 13,304 “breakthrough” cases of COVID-19 — people who contracted the virus two weeks or more after being fully vaccinated. That’s 0.8% of people who are fully vaccinated.

Of that number, 707 required hospitalization — 0.04% of those fully vaccinated. And there have been 73 deaths — 0.004% of those fully vaccinated.