SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Labor Day weekend and the unofficial end of summer are upon us. If you’re heading to a picnic or a party this weekend, you may want to grab your mask.
Every one of Utah’s 29 counties is reporting a high community transmission of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Earlier this week, two counties were not within the high transmission category.
To be considered a high community transmission county, the CDC relies on the number of new cases per 100,000 persons within the last seven days. To fall in the high transmission category, that number must be 100 or greater. The CDC also reviews the percentage of positive tests during the seven-day period. A rate of 10% or higher will put a county in the high transmission category.
In July, the CDC issued new masking guidelines for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, in response to the Delta variant spreading rapidly. Within the guidelines, the CDC encourages anyone living in areas of “substantial and high” virus transmission to wear a mask inside.
According to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, the vast majority of counties – 3,029 – across the U.S. are seeing substantial or high COVID-19 transmission. Nebraska is the only state which appears not overwhelmed by red or orange counties.
Based on the CDC’s guidance, everyone in Utah should be wearing a mask, regardless of whether or not they are vaccinated.
