(ABC4) – It has been three weeks since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new masking guidelines, even for vaccinated people, in response to new information about the ability of the Delta variant to spread.
Within the guidelines, the CDC encourages anyone living in areas of “substantial and high” virus transmission to wear a mask inside.
So where should you put your mask on?
According to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, the vast majority of counties across the U.S. are seeing substantial or high COVID-19 transmission. It late July, southern states like Louisiana, Florida, and Arkansas are entirely red, meaning they are in the ‘high’ level.
Now, based on the Aug. 15 update, nearly every state has the majority of its counties red. Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota have among the fewest red counties. Below is a side-by-side comparison of the COVID Data Tracker. On the left, is the map for the week of Monday, July 19 through Sunday, July 25. On the right, the map for the week of Sunday, Aug. 8 through Saturday, Aug. 14.
As you can see, Utah is among the states who are vastly red or orange.
Of Utah’s 29 counties, just two are not in the ‘substantial’ or ‘high’ categories – Daggett and Emery. Two counties – Rich and Piute – are in the substantial category, identified with the color orange, while the rest are in the high category, noted with the color red.
Based on the latest CDC guidance, this means everyone, vaccinated or not, should be wearing a mask when indoors in all but two counties.
Here is a side-by-side comparison of Utah’s COVID-19 transmission rates, courtesy of the CDC. On the left, Utah’s transmission rate for late July, and on the right, the map as of Aug. 15.
As of Aug. 16, 58.5% of Utahns 12-years-old and older are fully vaccinated against the virus. The vaccine is not currently available for kids 11 and under.
For more on COVID-19 in Utah, click here.
