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COVID-19 cases hit record highs in Summit County

'Now is the time’ to get a booster or initial shot, state Department of Health says

Pamela Manson
For The Park Record
The line for a COVID-19 test stretches from the parking lots at Park City High School onto Kearns Boulevard on Wednesday morning. A weekly mobile testing facility has been stationed at the parking lots for months, but the demand has seldom, if ever, reached the levels seen Wednesday as the Park City area grapples with a record coronavirus case surge.
David Jackson/Park Record

Health officials are encouraging Utahns to take precautions to avoid getting and spreading COVID-19 after cases spiked in recent days, likely the result of a combination of the highly contagious omicron variant and holiday events.

The Utah Department of Health on Wednesday reported 3,003 new cases in the state and seven deaths. Summit County has felt the surge acutely. Cases hit record highs on three days during the Christmas holiday. On Monday, 136 new cases were identified in the county, by far the largest single-day total since the start of the pandemic.

The county had 92 positive cases in the week starting Dec. 12, 385 in the week starting Dec. 19 and 301 since Dec. 26, according to the county Health Department’s COVID-19 dashboard.



“Residents and visitors are strongly advised to protect themselves and others during this spike by staying at home when sick, frequently washing hands and using hand sanitizer when in public and seeking testing when symptoms consistent with COVID-19 appear,” the Summit County Health Department said in a news release. “Additionally, wearing masks while in crowded indoor settings is strongly encouraged.”

County health officials are optimistic that high vaccine rates will continue to keep hospitalizations low despite the spike in cases and greatly reduce the risk of death for people who contract COVID-19.



According to estimates on the county’s COVID dashboard, virtually all residents who are eligible to receive the vaccine — those age 5 and older — have gotten at least one dose and 85% have completed their vaccination series. Information about the percentage of residents who have received a booster shot was not available.

There have been 8,437 COVID-19 cases, 244 hospitalizations and 19 deaths in Summit County since the start of the pandemic.

The totals for Utah are 633,429 positive cases, 27,446 hospitalizations and 3,781 deaths, according to the Utah Department of Health as of Wednesday. School-age children accounted for 333 of the new cases reported Wednesday.

About 66% of Utahns have gotten at least one dose of a vaccine and 58.4% are fully vaccinated.

“If you have delayed getting your booster or your first vaccine dose, now is the time to get that shot,” the state Department of Health said in a news release.

The jump in cases in Utah and the nation has people rushing to get tested for the coronavirus. The rush was apparent in Park City on Wednesday as a long line of vehicles stretching onto Kearns Boulevard formed at a mobile testing facility in the Park City High School parking lot.

The Utah Department of Health confirmed the state’s first case of COVID-19 caused by the omicron variant on Dec. 3.

“We are still learning about Omicron,” the state Department of Health said in a Dec. 22 news release. “It’s likely we will see more breakthrough cases with Omicron; however, what we know right now, is vaccination and booster shots still offer the best protection against severe illness from COVID-19.”

In the past 28 days, Utahns who were unvaccinated were at 17.3 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19 than vaccinated people, 10 times greater risk of being hospitalized, and 3.4 times greater risk of testing positive for coronavirus, according to the department.

To schedule an appointment for a vaccine or a booster, visit coronavirus.utah.gov/vaccine-distribution/. Information about getting tested can be found at coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-covid-19-testing-locations/.

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