May 4, 2021
The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) today notified the Utah State Legislature that all COVID-19 thresholds established in House Bill 294, Pandemic Emergency Power Amendments, have been met. The legislation, passed during the 2021 General Session, established criteria for eliminating COVID-19 public health orders based on case rates, ICU utilization, and prime doses of vaccine allocated to the state.
The thresholds required for terminating public health orders are:
A 14-day case rate less than 191 per 100,000 people (currently 163.4)
A 7-day average COVID-19 ICU utilization less than 15% (currently 11.2%)
More than 1,633,000 prime doses of COVID-19 vaccine allocated to the state (1,656,025)
In a letter notifying legislative leadership the criteria have been met, UDOH Executive Director Rich Saunders said, “I understand HB294 has been controversial. Important, legitimate arguments having been made on all sides of the issues. But today should give all of us reason to celebrate. No matter which side someone falls on, we can all be proud of the outcomes we have achieved so far.”