The numbers of coronavirus victims continue to climb, with 15 confirmed cases in the United States and 82,000 cases and 2,800 deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Institute.
While the virus hasn’t appeared in Utah yet, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Summit County Manager Tom Fisher said at a recent County Council meeting that officials have been fielding inquiries from the public about the virus and the county’s preparedness.
He said the Summit County Health Department is leading the response effort and will offer more details about its plans at a Board of Health meeting at 4 p.m. Monday, March 2, at the Health Department, 650 Round Valley Drive.
“It is part of their role to make sure the community is prepared for these types of things that happen,” Fisher told the council. “We don’t have lots of opportunities, luckily, to explain what those plans are and show the community what we are prepared for.”
Summit County’s nursing director Carolyn Rose advised residents to cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing, wash their hands frequently with soap and water and to stay home if sick.
The county has set up a website dedicated to the situation at summitcountyhealth.org/coronavirus. A recent press release from the Health Department advised people to only rely on trusted sources of information on the virus, like the CDC and the Utah Department of Health.