The Summit County Health Department is preparing to transition out of its pandemic response with coronavirus cases continuing to trend downward to levels similar to before the omicron surge.
Looking at the current curve, Summit County is in “really good shape,” Health Director Phil Bondurant said during Monday night’s Board of Health meeting. There were 15 reported cases on Sunday compared to 179 just one month earlier on Jan. 6. Efforts to provide booster doses have also picked up some, with approximately 40% of residents having received a third dose.
Overall data tied to the county’s vaccination rates and natural immunity, wastewater samples and hospitalization rates — plus other factors like availability of antiviral treatments and a surplus of monoclonal antibody treatments — indicates that Summit County has likely moved beyond the peak of the pandemic, barring the emergence of a new variant, according to Bondurant.
The best metrics to consider are hospitalization rates and wastewater data, according to health experts, because they are not influenced by self-reporting. There have been 11 hospitalizations in Summit County in the last 30 days, according to the Health Department’s COVID-19 dashboard.
“Those numbers indicate the (downward) curve we’re seeing is indicative of what we’re seeing in the community,” Bondurant said. “Things look really good going into spring.”
The county will likely see an influx of visitors during Presidents Day weekend, but officials don’t believe that will cause a rise in cases — leading the Health Department to move toward the next phase of public health response to COVID-19. Officials are preparing to start messaging around a shift from the crisis being a pandemic to the virus being endemic, which occurs when a disease is regularly found in the community but infection rates remain static.
Contact tracers have been shifting their focus to high-priority cases and outbreak tracing rather than day-to-day tracking as numbers decline. Bondurant said this strategy has allowed them to get ahead of waves of cases in certain facilities.
Although state rapid testing has been suspended over accuracy concerns, testing in Summit County will be unaffected. The county utilizes a third-party contractor which doesn’t use the BinaxNow tests in question.
The Health Department does anticipate an increased demand for testing in Summit County with sites closing in Salt Lake City, but Bondurant is confident that the contractor will manage the flow — especially as local testing demand has dropped off significantly. Health officials are trying to work about 90 days ahead and have been coordinating with the ski resorts to determine the best strategies for international workers who need testing, too.
The turnaround time for a PCR test in Summit County is less than 72 hours, and rapid test results are typically received within 18 hours, officials said. Tests performed at Park City Hospital also come back around 72 hours when in the past it would take several days.
Bondurant expects the positivity rate in Summit County to remain high as individuals are often only getting tested if they are symptomatic or if they receive a positive at-home test. That is not indicative of the overall spread of the disease, however.
COVID-19 testing is available Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Richardson Flat, Tuesday in Kamas and Friday in Coalville. Bondurant recognized that some Summit County residents now have to travel depending on when they need a test but is proud to continue offering testing every weekday.
“This is the best structure with the current demand,” he said.