Local health officials Thursday reported two new deaths in Dickinson County attributed to COVID-19 — the first fatal cases in the county this month — and 47 more confirmed positives since its last update Monday.

As has been its practice to respect family privacy, the Dickinson-Iron District Health Department provided no details on the deaths. It raises the county’s death toll in 2021 to seven.

In a Facebook post Thursday afternoon, the DIDHD also listed seven new confirmed COVID cases in Iron County. In addition, Dickinson County had six new probable cases and one recovery.

The agency had Dickinson County at 2,301 confirmed positives and 290 probable cases, with 2,327 recovered, 71 deaths and 193 cases still active. For Iron County, the DIDHD had 903 confirmed cases and 65 probables, with 884 recovered, 48 deaths and 36 active cases.

Also on Thursday, Public Health Delta and Menominee Counties announced genetic testing has confirmed the B.1.1.7 variant originally recorded in Great Britain has surfaced in Menominee County. In the region, it earlier had been recorded in Marquette and Dickinson counties and in Florence County in Wisconsin.

This variant is concerning because it is thought to spread more easily and quickly, according to the PHDMC. Compared with the standard SARS-CoV-2 virus, the B.1.1.7 variant is about 50% more transmissible, potentially increasing numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

For the Upper Peninsula, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ coronavirus website Thursday listed 97 new confirmed cases: 29 in Delta County; 19 in Dickinson County; 16 in Marquette County; six in Iron and Ontonagon counties; five in Houghton County; four in Menominee County; three in Luce County; two in Chippewa, Mackinac, Gogebic and Baraga counties; and one in Schoolcraft County.

Using only the state’s figures, the Upper Peninsula as of Thursday has had 18,229 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 402 deaths.

Across the U.P., the MDHHS data site Thursday had Keweenaw County at 132 confirmed cases and 32 probable, and one confirmed death and one probable death; Luce County, 156 confirmed cases and 154 probable, one probable death; Schoolcraft County, 275 confirmed cases and 50 probable, four deaths and one probable; Alger County, 298 confirmed, 181 probable and one death, four probable; Mackinac County, 359 confirmed cases and 211 probable, three deaths; Ontonagon County, 386 confirmed, 56 probable and 20 deaths, one probable; Baraga County, 530 confirmed cases, 110 probable and 33 deaths; Iron County, 901 confirmed cases and 62 probable, 42 deaths and nine probable; Chippewa County, 952 confirmed cases and 1,280 probable, and 26 deaths, five probable; Gogebic County, 991 confirmed cases and 357 probable, 22 deaths and 28 probable; Menominee County, 1,693 confirmed cases, 298 probable and 39 deaths, two probable; Dickinson County, 2,295 confirmed cases and 287 probable, 56 deaths and 16 probable; Houghton County, 2,381 confirmed cases, 582 probable, 32 deaths and eight probable; Delta County, 2,994 confirmed cases and 564 probable, 67 deaths and 19 probable; and Marquette County, 3,886 confirmed cases, 729 probable and 56 deaths, one probable. State numbers are updated almost daily but can lag behind local reports or have other discrepancies.

The MDHHS on Thursday posted 6,303 confirmed new coronavirus positives in Michigan for a total to date of 770,822. The state recorded 112 new deaths — including 81 that happened earlier but recently were verified through vital records and testing, according to the MDHHS — to reach 16,731.

For Wisconsin counties in the region, the state Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 data site Thursday had seven new confirmed positives in Marinette County, four in Vilas County and one in Florence County.

The DHS on Thursday had Marinette County with 4,045 confirmed cases, 427 probable cases and 65 deaths, three probable deaths; Vilas County, 2,218 confirmed, 144 probable and 39 deaths, two probable; Forest County, 944 confirmed, 77 probable and 23 deaths, three probable; Iron County, 571 confirmed, 117 probable and 21 deaths, 19 probable; and Florence County, 441 confirmed, 51 probable and 12 deaths. As in Michigan, state numbers are updated daily but can lag behind local reports or have other discrepancies.

Wisconsin added 943 new positives Thursday for a total of 588,504 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date. The state listed three new deaths Thursday to reach 6,698.