The most recent data released by the Summit County Health Department and the Utah Department of Health have the county showing the beginnings of a decline to the omicron surge that has swept across Utah in the first two weeks of 2022.
According to the Summit County COVID-19 dashboard, the county has seen a slight decrease in the number of new cases over the past seven days, and a decrease in the percent of positive COVID-19 tests in the county.
As of the most recent data, Summit County saw roughly 500 fewer new cases last week than the week before, and the county’s percentage of positive tests has been slowly declining since January 3rd.
According to state health department data, nowhere else in Utah is seeing the same trends.
Although Summit County stands alone right now, County Health Director Phil Bondurant told KPCW at the beginning of the omicron surge that the county has been a bellwether of sorts for the rest of the state throughout the pandemic.
“As we’ve learned in this pandemic, when there’s the big surges or changes in what the virus is doing, Summit County tends to be a week to 10 days ahead of the rest of the state,” he said.
Summit County was the first county in Utah to see COVID-19 spikes in the spring of 2020, and the county saw the beginning of the omicron surge roughly five days before the rest of Utah did.
Bondurant said this could be due to many factors, but pointed to the county’s large tourist population, especially during the winter, as a possible cause for these trends.
Park City is expecting more crowds over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The first health data from the weekend is expected to be released on Tuesday.
