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The Utah Department of Health on Wednesday reported 22 more COVID-19 deaths, including 13 in the past day. Nine more occurred before Oct. 1 and were added to the death toll after further testing.
Almost half the reported deaths were people below the age of 65. Five were people between the ages of 25 and 44, and five were 45-64.
The state’s health department on Wednesday reported 2,068 new coronavirus cases. The rolling seven-day average for positive tests stands at 1,628 per day.
Intensive care units in the state remain near capacity. According to UDOH, 94% of all ICU beds and 96.4% of ICU beds in larger medical centers are occupied. Of all ICU patients, 40.1% are being treated for COVID-19.
An additional 2,521 Utahns were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in the past day, bringing the total to 1,747,042 — 53.4% of Utah’s total population.
Vaccine doses administered in the past day/total doses administered • 15,579 / 3,705,391.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,747,042.
Cases reported in past day • 2,068.
Cases among school age children • Kids in grades K-12 accounted for 413 of the new cases announced Wednesday — 20% of the total. There were 204 cases reported in children aged 5-10; 98 cases in children 11-13; and 111 cases in children 14-18.
Tests reported in past day • 10,727 people were tested for the first time. A total of 20,922 people were tested.
Deaths reported in past day • 22.
Salt Lake County reported seven deaths: Two men and a woman between the ages of 25 and 44, three men 45-64, and a man 65-84.
There were three deaths in Weber County: A woman 45-64, and a man and a woman 65-84. There were also three deaths in Washington County: Two men 25-44, and a woman 65-84.
Two Box Elder County residents died: A man 65-84 and a man 85-plus. Two Cache County women 65-84 also died, as did two Utah County residents: A man 45-64, and a woman 65-84.
Three counties each reported a single death: An Emery County woman 65-84, a Sanpete County woman 65-84, and a Tooele County man 65-84.
Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 538. That is 14 more than reported on Tuesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 200 are in intensive care — two more than reported Tuesday.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 19.3% over the past day. That is higher than the seven-day average of 16.9%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Wednesday’s rate was 9.9%, lower than the seven-day average of 11%.
[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 17.5 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to a UDOH analysis. The unvaccinated also were 10.65 times more likely to be hospitalized and 5.3 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.
Totals to date • 546,213 cases; 3,181 deaths; 23,866 hospitalizations; 3,678,498 people tested.