SALT LAKE CITY — While getting Utahns vaccinated has become the focus in the fight against COVID-19, the Utah Department of Health said Monday free testing continues to be available throughout the state as just 194 new coronavirus cases and no additional deaths from the virus were reported.
“Testing is still a central component of the state’s COVID-19, and will remain so until we are able to vaccinate a significant portion of the population,” state health department spokesman Tom Hudachko said.
A new Utah law lifts the statewide mask mandate on April 10, and all other virus restrictions end once the state has received 1.63 million first vaccine doses, enough for 70% of the population, as long as case counts and hospitalization rates remain low. Until then, masks will still be required in K-12 schools and at some gatherings.
State health officials have said Utah could reach the vaccine dose level set in the law by mid-May. To date, Utah has administered 1,307,533 doses of COVID-19, a daily increase of 3,214 shots. Nearly 2.4 million Utahns have taken just over 4.2 million tests for the virus, an increase of 2,403 people as 4,664 tests were administered since Sunday.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests is 426 per day, and the rolling seven-day average for percent positivity when all test results are included, the method the state used to help calculate county transmission levels, is 3.45%. That rate increases to 6.9% when multiple test results from individuals in the past 90 days are excluded.
There are 138 people currently hospitalized in Utah with COVID-19, and the state’s death toll from the virus remains at 2,114
Hudachko said the reason Utahns should continue to be tested for the coronavirus is that “it’s still important to identify positive cases so those individuals can isolate and avoiding spreading the infection to others who have not yet had the opportunity to be vaccinated.”
COVID-19 testing peaked in Utah in November as cases surged, and again in January, when they climbed again after the holidays. Nationwide, coronavirus testing has dropped off from a peak of 2 million tests a day in mid-January, according to data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center.
Utahns can go to coronavirus.utah.gov/covid-testing-locations-list to find nearby testing sites and are asked to register online before arriving. Results of the rapid antigen tests, available to anyone 3 or older, should be emailed within 30 minutes to several hours.
The Salt Lake County Health Department is offering both the rapid antigen test and the more accurate PCR or polymerase chain reaction test in the Maverik Center parking lot at the corner of 3100 South and Decker Lake Drive in West Valley City, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
It can take two to three business days to receive results from a PCR test, recommended for those without virus symptoms. Registration for the Salt Lake County-sponsored testing is available online at slco.org and more information is available at SaltLakeHealth.org or by calling 385-468-4082.
Salt Lake County Health Department spokesman Gabe Moreno said most people want a rapid test “because it’s convenient and fast” but the antigen tests “are just less accurate, especially now when the case numbers are down.”
Moreno also said testing for COVID-19 “remains hugely important, even though all Utahns are eligible for the vaccine, we are still in the moderate transmission index, which means the unrecognized cases are still out there. We need to identify and isolate cases quickly.”
There are also new, more contagious variants of the virus already in Utah, he said, “and because they are more transmissible, we need to identify them quickly in order to prevent another wave. Testing allows us to do those things.”
Last week, Utah opened up vaccinations to everyone 16 and older in the state. But adding about a million people to the state’s eligibility list means it will take some time for everybody who wants the shots to schedule them.
It takes at least two weeks after the final shot to be considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Two of the three vaccines approved for use in the United States, from Pfizer and Moderna, require two doses up to 28 days apart, while only a single dose of Johnson & Johnson is needed.