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Summit Council Passes New Health Order

Utah COVID-19 Community Task Force

The Summit County Council Wednesday approved an updated Public Health Order that maintains its existing Mask Mandate, but adopts the state’s new health guidance system.  

County Health Director Rich Bullough told the Council that the updated order would rescind the orders 1 through 8, which they have issued since last spring.     It retains the Mandatory Mask Order from June, No. 9.

He said that the new state guidelines replace the former color-coded system, instead designating each county as low, moderate, or high risk.

The guidelines will use a combination of three factors—the  seven-day average of positive tests; the 14-day average of cases in a particular county; and the number of ICU beds in use statewide.

Council Member Kim Carson, who also sits on the Health Board, said it’s a good change.        

“It’s consistent across the state.   It’s data-driven.   And I think the numbers they landed on within those areas, in just the areas they selected, are key.  There’s no second-guessing.   And it doesn’t mean, if you’re not in the High, or Moderate, that you don’t have an issue.  We all have an issue.  We need to wear a mask and do whatever we can with social distancing to try to reduce the spread of Covid within Utah.”

Bullough noted that the Park City Hospital, a small facility, has four ICU beds.

He said he’s been monitoring the meetings of the Utah Department of Health, Utah Medical Association, and others who are keeping an eye on ICU capacity.         

“Right now, we’re at 72 percent of capacity of ICU beds in the state of Utah.  The Summit County ICU beds right now, the latest report I looked at today, at 75 percent capacity, so three of four.   But those could be individuals from the Wasatch Front, and as we know there have been multiple individuals who are Summit County residents who have become ill, ill enough to be hospitalized, with or without ICU but hospitalized.   And many of them have been transferred to the Wasatch Front.  What they are trying to avoid, the planners, is what we saw in New York.”

He said the state planners are looking at their options to avoid a deadly surge.

“They are beginning the conversation of temporary hospitals, temporary facilities, if there are significant surges.  They’ve also done a thorough investigation of current resources, and whether or not they can—for example, convert a hallway into a specific Covid-dedicated wing.  The answer in many cases is Yes.  These folks are really good at what they do.”

Bullough said on the positive side, it looks like people are responding to the new messaging.     Visits to the Covid hotline and website are at the highest levels since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Even in hot-spot Utah County, numbers are improving.

On the other hand, Carson said she’s heard anecdotally that families, or other local groups, are finding they have Covid, but are unwilling to get tested.

Bullough said he never thought that was a problem they were going to see.       

“When I thought about limitations to testing, I always thought it would be that we didn’t have test kits, or we didn’t have capabilities, or capacity to test.  I never could have imagined that it would be because there are groups of people avoiding being tested.   But that is, I believe, where we find ourselves.  I don’t know the magnitude of that, but we’ve heard many stories from credible sources about athletic teams, about families, as you suggested.  I have wondered about whether or not certain business sectors are discouraging testing.  And I don’t have any evidence to that.  But when we look at the positive cases and you begin to look at what is driving this pandemic, and you see large gaps in the data set in places that you wouldn’t expect them, you have to ask the question, is that denominator accurate.”

County Health Director Rich Bullough, who said that contact tracing is a critical measure.

Known for getting all the facts right, as well as his distinctive sign-off, Rick covered Summit County meetings and issues for 35 years on KPCW. He now heads the Friday Film Review team.
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