A week into new COVID mandates, 169 new cases confirmed
in central Utah
By Robert Stevens
Managing editor
10-22-2020
One week into the new mask mandate and social gathering directives from the Utah Governor’s Office, COVID-19 base numbers in the Central Utah Public Health Department (CUPHD) continue to climb.
The health district, which is made up of Sanpete, Juab, Sevier, Millard, Piute and Wayne Counties, jumped 169 in confirmed cases in a one week period, to a total of 1080. The district has had a total of six deaths so far, and as of Tuesday, 19903 people have been tested. There have been 57 COVID cases which have required hospitalization.
Sanpete County has lead the way in total cases in the CUPHD for a while now, with 345 confirmed—144 of which are current active cases. That’s a jump of 52 cases in a one week period. There have been two deaths in Sanpete and two people are currently hospitalized.
According to CUPHD officials, the new cases of COVID are predominantly those who have been traceable to the exact source of contact, all of which were within the district, but more than a dozen cases were flagged as “community transmission,” which means they came into contact with COVID locally somehow, but were unable to determine where and when.
Sanpete County has been categorized as a moderate risk area by the governor’s office, but that designation could go up or down depending on how our area improves or worsens in regards to factors such as transmission rate and hospital capacity. The mask mandate and social gathering limit of 10 or fewer people will remain in place for Sanpete until at least Thursday, Oct. 29.
Juab County, which the governor’s office designated a high risk area, has 227 total cases confirmed, 106 of which are currently active cases of COVID. There have been three deaths in Juab County connected to the pandemic, and four people are currently hospitalized over it. Even after Thursday, Oct. 29, Juab will continue to have the mask mandate and social gathering limit until their high risk designation has been reduced by the state.
In Sevier County, 109 of 227 total cases are currently active. Sevier has had one COVID death.
Millard County has 243 total cases, 71 of which are currently active. They have one current COVID hospitalization.
The numbers for Piute and Wayne counties have stayed low for most of the pandemic, but are experiencing a surge. Piute now has 25 total cases, 16 of which are active. Wayne County has grown to 13 total, 10 of which are currently active.
