LOGAN, Utah – Cache County is among the areas now considered to be at a high transmission level under new guidance from state health officials, and local leaders are trying to determine the impact that will have on gatherings.

A lot of events are already planned which includes private events scheduled at public facilities. Changes will have to be made and county leaders said they are trying to avoid cancellations.

Half or more of the new daily COVID-19 cases in Cache County have come from Utah State University, but that’s not quite the case anymore.

“And so now that’s kind of moved out into the community a little bit, and now we’re seeing more community spread that’s not associated directly with the university,” said Craig Buttars, Cache County chief executive officer.

He said it’s a fact of life that people now have to work together to deal with as the county is now in the highest transmission level. Just two months ago, county leaders asked to move to a green, low-risk status.

“I’m disappointed in that, but still, it is what it is, and we just need to move on and learn to adapt to what’s happening around us and live our lives,” said Buttars.

As part of new guidelines, the county is under a requirement to wear masks indoors and outdoors where social distancing is not feasible.

Resident Paul Dellos said it needs to be done. “I’m definitely concerned about this thing you know, we’re a little older,” he explained.

“You know if we mask up, we can keep the economy going and that’s really important, let alone to protect ourselves,” Dellos said.

Many questions surrounded planned public and private events to be held at county and city facilities.

“The message that I got from the governor’s statement yesterday is that the local individuals are going to have a little bit of flexibility,” Buttars said.

Buttars said the county is working with the Bear River Health Department to figure out what changes need to be made.

He’s hopeful that events won’t have to be canceled, just modified.

“And so we’re going to move forward, but we’ll make sure that we do so in a safe manner as possible,” he said.

A county commissioner told KSL he believes these changes should be left to local governments. Changes needed in Logan, for example, may not make sense in some of the smaller county communities.