Quick Utah COVID-19 update:

New records:

1,501 new cases (81,947 total)
237 confirmed cases in hospitals
73% of ICU beds occupied
7-day avg for new hospitalizations: 40.7 (+54 today, +55 yesterday, which is a )
42 deaths reported in the last 7 days

Not good. #utpol

In the last 7 days, Utah County still has the most new cases/100k - and had the most today too - but most of the other districts are catching up. Only San Juan and TriCounty have added fewer than 10 cases/day (per 100k) in the last week, while the average elsewhere is 27/day.

After UTCo implemented their mask mandate, @SLCoMayor applauded UTCo Commissioner @TannerAinge and said, "Watch cases drop in about 7 days." That clearly happened, but it doesn't explain what's happening in #SLCo, which has had a mandate since 6/28.

Clearly, masks are not entirely responsible for declining cases in UTCo, nor for the rise in SLCo. Awareness through effective messaging and outreach as well as smart public health policies - esp for schools - are every bit as important.

(Also: @jordandistrict is rising...)

Unfortunately, while cases are falling (somewhat) in UTCo, hospitalizations and fatalities are rising. In the last 4 wks (which is 13% of the pandemic), UTCo has added:

220 hospitalizations (749 total, or 29%)
14 deaths (66 total, or 21%)

And new cases are still very high.

So be careful, still, even though we're all sick of this thing. The recent spike has taken active cases to new heights and it will be much harder to get down than it was to get up here. #WearAMask #WatchYourDistance #WashYourHands