Utah’s COVID-19 infection numbers unchanged while half the country sees more infections
Jul 23, 2025, 6:00 AM
The Utah Department of Health building in Salt Lake City is pictured on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. More people are getting sick with COVID-19 in the summer of 2025 in various parts of the United State. But that's not the case in Utah. (Steve Griffin/Deseret News)
(Steve Griffin/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — More people are getting sick with COVID-19 this summer in various parts of the United State. But that’s not the case in Utah.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates infection numbers for each state based on the number of emergency department visits where someone is diagnosed with COVID-19. In its latest report, the CDC said infections were going up in 27 states.
“Here in Utah we are still seeing low numbers of emergency department visits associated with COVID and also low hospitalization rates,” said Pamela Gomez, respiratory disease epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
Why are Utah’s COVID-19 infection numbers low?
Gomez said there could be a few reasons for Utah’s low infection numbers.
“It could be that people are just not getting tested as much and so we’re just not seeing it,” she said. “It could be that people’s health behaviors are just different in Utah and that’s preventing transmission. It’s hard to say the exact cause.”
The advice from Gomez and others surrounding COVID-19 hasn’t changed much since the pandemic. She asks people to stay home when they are sick and follow basic hygiene standards like washing your hands often and coughing into your elbow.
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