Utah reports 2,159 new cases of COVID-19, 10 more deaths
SALT LAKE CITY — Since the beginning of the pandemic, long-term care facilities have been shuttered to outside visitors. Churches, too, were initially limited to smaller crowds and fewer meetings.
While that was done to protect communities and facilities from further spread of the novel coronavirus, Utah Rep. Cory Maloy, R-Lehi, wants to be sure state government doesn’t prevent people the spiritual and emotional fulfillment they might need, especially in times of crisis.
“Certainly we are in a pandemic and we all need to do our part to keep each other safe, but there are people going months and months without contact. It is a major detriment to their well-being,” Maloy told the Deseret News, adding that he believes the Utah Department of Health is doing and has done its best since COVID-19 hit Utah last year.
HB184 addresses personal and religious liberties, specifically contact with family and spiritual leaders during a pandemic. He said facilities, like churches have done, should provide a way for people who consent to such contact.
“There are certain things that are worth the risk, especially when we have everything in place that can make sure people stay safe,” Maloy said.
More than 77% of COVID-19 deaths in Utah have involved people over age 65, according to health department data. And many of them lived in unique care settings that include close contact with other residents and staff. The facilities have been plagued with coronavirus outbreaks from the start of the pandemic, as it is believed that people over 65 or with underlying health conditions are more susceptible to severe disease resulting from infection.
“The Utah Department of Health has an important responsibility to respond to outbreaks of infectious disease in order to protect the health of Utah residents,” Utah Department of Health spokesman Tom Hudachko said, adding that the health department is willing to work with Maloy.
Maloy said families in Utah have struggled with not having access their loved ones in health care facilities. Those loved ones, too, haven’t had access to spiritual leaders they have grown accustomed to hearing from.
Historically, he said, access to religious leaders has been a priority, as chaplains “dodged bullets on the battlefields to give last rites to fallen soldiers.”
Most, if not all churches throughout Utah have reopened since early in the pandemic, operating under recommendations from the health department, but taking upon themselves “to do the right thing to protect their congregations,” Maloy said. He said everyone should be able to have access to those resources, even throughout lockdown.
“The government can’t come in and shut down churches,” he said, adding that state officials have a difficult job to do in the midst of a global pandemic.
“There’s so many unknowns, it’s easy to start doing things that infringe upon a person’s rights,” Maloy said.
Utah reported 2,159 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the state’s total known infections to 328,380.
Another 10 deaths were also reported, including six women and four men, mostly hailing from Salt Lake and Utah counties. COVID-19 has killed 1,517 people in the state.
Close to 2 million Utahns have been tested for COVID-19 since mid-March, some of them multiple times, though the health department records that separately.
There are 551 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 throughout Utah, with most hospitals reporting maximum capacity situations.
A statewide face mask mandate still exists, as transmission rates throughout Utah remain high.
The state has issued 181,169 doses of vaccine, 8,566 more than was reported on Tuesday.
Local health districts throughout the state are responsible to get the vaccine to the public living in their jurisdictions. They follow the guidance set forth by state officials on when to distribution the immunizations and to whom.
New COVID-19 cases reported on Wednesday by health district:
- Salt Lake County, 622
- Utah County, 481
- Davis County, 249
- Southwest Utah, 230
- Weber-Morgan, 207
- Tooele County, 137
- Bear River, 114
- Summit County, 53
- Central Utah, 51
- Wasatch County, 43
- Southeast Utah, 18
- TriCounty (Uinta Basin), 16
- San Juan County, 14
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