A state commission on COVID-19 and the Utah Department of Health are at odds on which risk level the state should be at by the end of the week.
Utah Epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn says there’s been a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases in Utah over the past week. She says the bump isn’t explained by a single outbreak or even increasing in testing.
“We started loosening restrictions about three to four weeks ago,” Dunn said. “We knew that this would likely increase cases in Utah. It’s not the simple act of loosening restrictions that causes cases to increase. It's what we do in society with our actions, that can cause COVID-19 to spread more readily. So to keep COVID-19 from spreading in Utah, it's really important that we take the following actions moving forward. When you start to participate in places in the economy and society, like going to stores or restaurants, avoid close contact with others. Make sure you're wearing a face covering. Stay home if you have any signs of illness, no matter how mild and contact your provider to determine if you should be tested for COVID-19. If public health has asked you to quarantine or isolate due to COVID-19, follow their guidance.”
On Tuesday, the Public Health and Economic Emergency Commission recommended that most of the state move to what they called a ‘smart’ green risk level this Friday. The commission is made up of legislators, business owners and presidents of healthcare companies. Dr. Dunn says the Utah Department of Health is not making the same recommendation.
“The Public Health and Economic Emergency Commission makes recommendations to the governor based on a lot of factors,” Dunn continued. “We in public health look at our public health data and make recommendations for restrictions or loosening restrictions to the governor and the Commission. Based on the data we have seen in the past week; we don't recommend any jurisdiction in the state going to green.”
Dr. Dunn says the Governor has the ultimate call on whether the state goes to green or stays in yellow. She said she didn’t have any indication of what the Governor may do.
With police brutality protests occurring throughout the state, Dr. Dunn offers advice to those protesters.
“Any situation where you have a lot of people gathered for a prolonged period of time and they’re really close together,” Dunn explained. “That is a situation where we’re of course concerned for COVID-19 spread. So we're going to certainly be watching our numbers over the next week or two, to determine if we do see an uptick. We do recommend that anyone who's in a situation like that, whether it be protests or other environments where there in close quarters with others, definitely watch for symptoms for the next two weeks. Isolate immediately upon having either a mild symptom and contact their health care provider.”
Summit County saw an increase of total confirmed cases from 412 last Friday to 418 this Wednesday. Wasatch County increased from 265 to 305 over the same period.
