Summit County issues COVID-19 Advisory as the number of cases breaks through record highs

Summit County Health Department Announced formal recommendation On Tuesday, we strongly encourage COVID-19 to wear a mask until January 31st and take other precautions.

Masking is more important than ever, according to the advisory, as a new recommendation from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduces the duration of quarantine and quarantine to five days.

According to Phil Bondurant, Director of Health at Summit County, this recommendation is a response to record infections of the COVID-19 Omicron variant in Utah and the United States.

“There is no doubt that we are in control of Omicron,” Bondurant told the Summit County Health Commission on Monday.

In a news release on Tuesday, Bondurant said the county faces one of the most critical times in a pandemic and has a record high number of COVIDs. On Tuesday, Summit County confirmed 216 confirmed cases, nearly triple the daily highs before the current surge 79 set in January 2021. The number of cases has exceeded 79 almost every day since December 23.

“Hospitalization is still the number one indicator, but I’m asking residents and visitors to take action to reduce the effects of infection and the Omicron mutation,” he said in the release. “The winter season is important to Summit County for many reasons, and we all have to promise to do what we can to live, work and protect the visitors in Summit County. We will continue to assess current trends, considering the best options for. “

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Summit County has had 9,166 COVID-19 cases, 248 hospitalizations and 19 deaths.

Utah reports 651,746 COVID-19 cases, 27,723 hospitalizations and 3,804 deaths.

According to the Utah Department of Health, cases of COVID-19 surged during the holidays, with 14,754 new cases of coronavirus reported from Thursday to Sunday.

Thursday showed the largest increase in four days, adding 4,659 to the state-wide aggregate that day. Of these cases, 197 were identified in Summit County.

The Utah Department of Health reported 4,659 positive COVID cases on Thursday. Friday is 3,799. Saturday is 3,267. And on Sunday 3,123. Of these, 94 were removed from the total by data quality analysis.

School-aged children accounted for 1,764 cases, 640 aged 5 to 10, 387 aged 11 to 13, and 737 aged 14 to 17.

The agency also reported 17 new deaths, stating that 466 are currently hospitalized in COVID-19 throughout the state. The total dose of vaccine given over the four days was 23,327.

The county health advisory guidelines recommend that people:

• Always wear a face mask when indoors in public, regardless of vaccination status. Keep in mind that the mask should always cover the nose and mouth, and high quality masks such as KN95 and KF94 may provide additional protection.

• Stay home and have your COVID tested if you are symptomatic of your illness, regardless of vaccination status or past infections.

• Vaccinated and boosted (if eligible).

• Avoid all large gatherings if you have not been vaccinated and have not been boosted (if applicable).

According to the advisory, Summit County has been the state’s most vaccinated area for months, but only 33% of its population received booster shots. During that time, about half of children aged 5 to 11 remain unvaccinated.

“COVID vaccines are very effective in preventing serious illness and death,” says the advisory. “Vaccine efficacy can decline over time, so booster immunization is important to maintain protection.”

Health recommendations also suggest that they are currently: Guidelines for quarantine and quarantine..

Utah public health officials say people who test positive for COVID-19 should stay home for five days from the day they are tested, even if they are asymptomatic and sick. You can leave the house if your symptoms improve after 5 days, but you will need to wear a mask around others for 5 days.

People infected with COVID-19 should be tested 5 days after exposure and wear a mask around others, according to the guidelines.

People over the age of 18 who have been boosted, have been vaccinated twice with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last 6 months, or have been vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine within the last 2 months should be quarantined after exposure. No, but wear a mask around others for 10 days. These same guidelines also apply to people under the age of 18 who are currently vaccinated (that is, they have been vaccinated twice with the Pfizer vaccine).

“We understand that changing the guidelines can be confusing,” Leisha Nolen, a state epidemiologist at the Ministry of Health, said in a news release. “Our knowledge of COVID-19, especially the Omicron variant, is changing rapidly. Data continue to show that vaccination protects you from severe illness. This is work and school. It means fewer people are at risk of missing or being hospitalized. “