SALT LAKE CITY – Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah, announced on Thursday that eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine will be extended to Utahns aged 50 and over, as well as to state residents with multiple comorbidities, starting Monday.
In addition to Utahns aged 50 and over, those residents who have type 1 or 2 diabetes, a body mass index over 30 or chronic kidney disease will also be eligible for the vaccine.
“This is a huge addition to eligibility,” Cox said.
After spending months at Utah’s highest level of restriction on COVID-19, Salt Lake and Davis counties will move to moderate transmission levels on Thursday, the governor said. This means that restrictions will be relaxed in both counties, as infection rates have continued to decline at the state level over the past month.
For counties with a moderate level of transmission, it is recommended that social gatherings be limited to 25 people or less. Masks are still required for indoor public settings and for outdoor settings when social distance is not possible.
For restaurants in counties with moderate transmission levels, a distance of 6 feet is still required between parties in the waiting areas. Masks are required in restaurants for patrons, unless they are actively eating or drinking. In bars, customers must wear masks if they are 6 feet from another party and must wear them if they do not eat or drink.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox on Thursday morning provided an update on the COVID-19 pandemic. Lt. Government Deidre Henderson and the Utah Department of Health, state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn also spoke at the event.
Watch the replay of the press conference below.
New COVID-19 cases
The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah rose 611 on Thursday, with 12 more deaths and nearly 26,000 reported vaccinations, according to the Utah Department of Health. Seven of the deaths occurred before February 11, but were still under investigation by the state medical doctor’s office, according to the health department.
The average continuous number of seven positive days a day is now 558, according to the health department. The positive daily test rate for that period compared to the ‘people over people’ method is now 10%. The positive daily test rate, averaged over seven days, calculated using the “test over test” method is now 4.8%.
There are 203 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, state data show. A total of 785,523 vaccines were administered in the state, up from 741,297 on Wednesday.
Thursday’s totals give Utah 373,319 confirmed cases in total, with 14,816 total hospitalizations and 1,965 total deaths from the disease.
This story will be updated.
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