Summit County Covid public health emergency will officially end Friday

Installing a government-sponsored hand sanitizer dispenser on Park City's Main Street in May 2020. Photo: Courtesy of Park City Municipal Corporation

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — At the Summit County Council meeting on Wednesday, county health director Dr. Phil Bondurant said he will be ending Summit County’s COVID-19 public health emergency declaration at 11:59 pm on Thursday night.

“Right now, by all accounts, the science, the data, they all indicate that this is no longer an emergency,” he said Wednesday.

“Previous two years, absolutely this was an emergency. But right now it’s not — moving forward it probably won’t be either,” Bondurant said of the coronavirus, which turned the world upside-down a little more than two years ago.

“That doesn’t mean it’s going to be out of our lives, but it does mean that we have to look at this differently,” he said.

Last month, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced the implementation of a “steady state” response to the coronavirus.

On Thursday, the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) ended state-sponsored community testing sites, free travel testing, the Utah Transmission Index, and the UDOH monoclonal antibody clinic. The state Covid dashboard will now update weekly (on Thursdays) instead of daily.

“We know there are communities that need additional support during this transition, including people who face health, financial, educational, or housing barriers and other inequities that make it difficult to get health coverage and basic healthcare services. We are committed to working with our healthcare partners to identify alternative sources of funding and innovative ways underserved communities can continue to access testing, treatments, and vaccinations,” said Dr. Michelle Hofmann, UDOH medical director.

As for the future in Summit County, testing will be available through a self-collected kiosk at the health department buildings in Kamas and Coalville. The current schedule:

Kamas: Tuesdays, 9 am – 4 pm

Coalville: Thursdays, 9 am – 4 pm

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A future plan for the Park City health department is still in the works. Summit County Deputy Health Director Shelley Worley suggests residents visit Curative, their third-party testing vendor.

“Our goal at the health department is to make sure that we have testing available through the end of the ski season and through the end of the school year,” Worley said.

She said the drop-off testing sites will continue to be free “as long as we can provide that kiosk moving forward.”

Worley added the department has established a committee that’s working with local organizations to provide home-test kits.

“One of the many things we’ve learned during this process is that Summit County is always the canary in the mine for the state of Utah,” Bondurant said when asked about a possible reemergence of the virus.

The county has the ability to reinstate an emergency order if Covid transmission does rapidly increase, however, the health director said Summit County’s high vaccination rates should ensure confidence.

Call your local Summit County Health Department office to register for the extra booster shot for people age 50 and older that was authorized by the FDA this week.