Salt Lake County officials announced plans Tuesday to reopen the county’s senior centers starting April 19, but services put in place after the centers were shut down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic a year ago will still be offered.

“We are looking forward to seeing our patrons again at the centers, but we plan to continue services like the ‘Virtual Senior Center’ and drive-thru meals,” Paul Leggett, Salt Lake County Aging and Adult Services division director, said.

In addition to the virtual classes and social activities offered online and lunches available for pick up, staff at the centers have made weekly phone calls to check up on patrons. Senior centers have been used for coronavirus vaccination clinics.

New health and safety protocols at the senior centers include enhanced cleaning measures and requiring reservations for lunches as well as for activities and the use of indoor spaces. Masks and social distancing will also be mandatory at the reopened centers.

“It’s been a long year of waiting for the centers to reopen. Once we are open, we plan to stay open,” Leggett said.

For more information on what will be offered at the county’s senior center, go to slco.org/aging.

Tuesday, the Utah Department of Health reported 371 new COVID-19 cases and four additional deaths from the virus. That brings the total number of virus cases in Utah to 385,127, and the state’s death toll has reached 2,118 lives lost.

There have been 1,331,862 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Utah, a daily increase of 24,329.

The rolling seven-day average for positive tests for the virus is 424 per day. An additional 5,113 Utahns were tested and 14,696 tests were conducted since Monday. The rolling seven-day average for percent positivity is 3.4% when all test results are included, and 6.7% when multiple tests by an individual in the past 90 days are excluded.

There are 134 people hospitalized in Utah with the virus, and total hospitalizations in the state have hit 15,503.

The four deaths reported Tuesday, including one that occurred before March 1, are:

• A Utah County man, between 65-84, hospitalized.

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• A Salt Lake County woman, between 24-44, hospitalized,

• An Iron County woman, between 45-64, long-term care facility resident,

• A Uintah County man, older than 85, not hospitalized.

 

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