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0000017b-652b-d50a-a3ff-f7efb02e0000KPCW's COVID-19 news coverage for Summit County and Wasatch County, Utah. 0000017b-652b-d50a-a3ff-f7efb02f0000You can also visit the Utah Department of Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization websites for additional information.

Summit County Moves to High Risk Level Of COVID-19 Index, As Utah Sets New Record For Daily Cases

With the number of COVID-19 cases on the rise, Summit County is now in the high transmission level based on the state’s new ranking system -  joining Wasatch County which has been in the high level since last week. This announcement comes after Utah set a new record of 1,543 COVID-19 cases being reported for a single day. 

There are now 21 counties in the high transmission level of Utah’s COVID-19 response plan. That’s up from just six last week. 

Residents in counties in the high risk levels, like Wasatch and Summit counties, must wear masks in public spaces, like stores and restaurants. Social gatherings are also restricted to less than 10 people. 

There is already a mask mandate in Summit County effective until January. If the county moves to a lower risk level, the county’s health director Rich Bullough says the mask mandate will still be in effect and likely extended.

The transmission levels are determined by the 7-day average of positive tests, the 14-day average of case rates in a county, and the number of ICU beds being used statewide. Counties can move from lower to higher levels each week, but they can only move from higher to lower levels every 14-days. 

Governor Gary Herbert said the numbers in Utah are still on the rise, and the new guidance plan won’t work unless everyone is abiding by it.

“No matter how good the plan is what we put in place, if people won't comply with it, we're going to have a trend going in the wrong direction,” Herbert said. “So again, short of locking people up and putting them in isolation, I guess in some kind of prison state, which I think has its own set of consequences that are all negative. I don't know what else we can do other than the plan we have here now, which we're trying to minimize risk until we in fact get a vaccine in place.”

State Epidemiologist Angela Dunn said it’s still too soon to tell if the new guidance levels are working yet. 

“We're one week into the transmission index being applied,” Dunn said. “So what over the next couple of weeks we'll continue to evaluate it. So typically, with policy interventions, it does take two to three weeks for us to see the impact on our cases.” 

Meanwhile ICU capacity is above 70%, and about 20% of those are COVID-19 patients.

As hospitalization rates in the state continue to increase, health experts are starting to prepare for a surge in cases by setting up a field hospital at the Mountain American Expo Center in Sandy. 

But Eddie Stenehjem, an infectious disease expert at Intermountain Healthcare, said if they have to resort to a field hospital the type of healthcare people receive will be different. 

“And so instead of being cared for by an ICU trained intensivist, who has spent their life training and practicing their craft of ICU medicine, you may be being taken care of by a physician that doesn't have that specialty training,” Stenehjem said. 

You can find more information on the new COVID-19 guidance levels and case rates at coronavirus.utah.gov.

Jessica joins KPCW as a general assignment reporter and Sunday Weekend Edition host. A Florida native, she graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in English — concentrating in film studies — and journalism. Before moving to Utah, she spent time in Atlanta, GA.
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