Salt Lake County Health Department Using Data To Track, Prevent COVID-19 Hot Spots

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – With six months of data, the Salt Lake County Health Department is taking a closer look at the industries that are getting hit the hardest by COVID-19.

There are upwards of 4,000 food-service establishments in Salt Lake County, so it may be no surprise that that industry has some of the higher numbers of outbreaks.

But Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, along with the county health department, showed how they can now use six months of data to drill down where outbreaks are coming from, and which industries perhaps need a little more focus on prevention.

The Salt Lake County Health Department has several workplace liaisons dedicated to several of those higher-risk areas. They work with employers to make sure they’re disinfecting and setting up effective plans for social distancing — the many things that they can to do protect their employees and customers.

Those liaisons also work with businesses as they have outbreaks. If they can keep one workplace safer, make sure there’s one less outbreak, it can help keep the overall case count down.

Gary Edwards, executive director of the Salt Lake County Health Department, said they can now take a close look at which industries are getting hit the hardest — food service, manufacturing, construction and long term care are at the top of the list.

“We have a team that goes to that worksite, identifies with the employer areas that may be a concern,” Edwards said. “And we work to come up with solutions to address that.”

Special liaisons go to those workplaces to help them better prepare and identify problem areas to protect employees and customers.

“They’re doing things that really make sense. Many times going beyond what those phase guidelines say, to help them be as safe as they can,” Edwards said.

The county health department has also taken a close look at masks — watching grocery stores and other businesses, to see how much they’re used across the Wasatch Front.

Wilson said they can now say with more confidence that they’re working.

“It’s actually given me what I needed to check my own gut, which is look, we have to be aggressive on the health side for the benefit of helping the community and the economy,” Wilson said.

She said it is providing further support for the county-wide mask mandate.

 Edwards said there’s an overall 90% or higher compliance rate, and that case numbers dipped about 14 days after the mandate was put into effect.

All of this data is now available on the Salt Lake County Health Department website.