Salt Lake City School District reports lowest COVID-19 case rate among area schools
Oct 5, 2021, 6:03 PM
Dr. Angela Dunn shares decision about mask mandate in Salt Lake County schools. (KSL TV)
(KSL TV)
SALT LAKE CITY — Schools in the Salt Lake City School District reported the lowest COVID-19 case rate among area schools in the first 40 days of the new academic year, according to Dr. Angela Dunn.
The executive director of the Salt Lake County Health Department shared the data on Twitter Tuesday afternoon.
In the first 49 days of school, 33 children under the age of 18 years have been hospitalized due to #COVID19 in SLCo — 19 of the 33 are ages 5-17 years
— Dr. Angela Dunn (@DrAngelaCDunn) October 5, 2021
The graphic showed 963 positive cases of the virus in SLCSD elementary schools, compared to 1,518 in the Jordan School District.
For middle and high schools, the data showed 750 COVID-19 cases in the SLCSD and 1,199 in the Granite School District.
Dunn went on to say, “In the first 49 days of school, 33 children under the age of 18 years have been hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Salt Lake County — 19 of the 33 are ages 5-17 years.”
On Sept. 15 the Salt Lake County Council extended a mask mandate for K-12 students in the district, first issued by city mayor Erin Mendenhall on Aug. 20. It is set to expire in mid October when the city council can decide to extend it again.
The Salt Lake Teachers Association supported the extension.
Dunn called for a Salt Lake County mask mandate in August but the county council voted it down, canceling it. The council voted 6-3, along party lines, to override Dunn’s public health order.
Dunn was Utah’s epidemiologist until she moved to her county position.
