Salt Lake City To Move To Yellow COVID-19 Restriction Level

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced the city will move from the orange to yellow restriction phase of the state’s COVID-19 guidelines on Friday.

The move comes after Mendenhall said the state’s capital saw a month of downward COVID-19 data trends.

“We are seeing very good data for Salt Lake City and after over 30 days of citywide trend progress we are ready to take this next step,” Mendenhall said. “As our residents move from neighborhood to neighborhood and city to city, there is limited public health benefit to remaining the only orange jurisdiction. The key for us now is in continued social distancing, wearing masks and continuing to practice handwashing and other sanitary measures.”

Officials initially reported the move would go into effect Thursday. They later corrected the date to Friday.

“My office unintentionally miscommunicated the timeline for the effective date of the requested shift. The governor is reviewing the request now, and there must be 24 hours notice given to the legislature before a restriction phase is modified. It is anticipated that SLC’s shift would therefore be effective on Friday, Sept. 4,” said Rich Saunders, interim executive director of the Utah Department of Health.

While this is good news, now is not the time to ease up on being responsible, wearing masks in public spaces, and keeping six feet of distance between you and others. For more information about what this shift entails, visit: https://t.co/oaCuEAFNe9 #utpol

— SLC Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) September 2, 2020

Officials said Salt Lake County’s mask requirement, which has been in place since late June, has contributed to the downward trend.

“I want to be clear that this shift is not a signal to relax on the important measures we take each day to stop the spread of COVID. Shifting to yellow is not a return to normal,” Mendenhall said. “Masks are still required and are critical. We are still asking you to maintain 6 feet of distance from others. We must maintain concerted efforts to sanitize and wash our hands. And high-risk individuals still must take additional steps to keep themselves safe.”

Health officials said Salt Lake City’s rate has been trending downward since July 13, and the city’s most impacted zip codes — 84104 and 84116 — have seen an overall stabilization or reduction over the past 30 days.

“While we’re encouraged by what we’re seeing in Salt Lake City, it’s important to remember there are communities in the city that are still experiencing an increased burden of COVID-19,” said state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn. “We will continue to work with those community leaders to decrease barriers to testing and to promote behaviors that will reduce the spread of COVID-19.” 

More information on Salt Lake City’s next steps can be found here.

Currently, Salt Lake County is at 13.3 cases per 100,000 citizens, and the COVID positive test rate is currently at 8.95%, according to the Salt Lake County Health Department. We are looking forward to seeing students online on Tuesday!
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— SLC School District (@slcschools) September 2, 2020