In the last week many folks may have noticed that the COVID numbers are decreasing which is a great sign considering where we were sitting not too long ago. Castle Country Radio was able to sit down with Southeast Utah Health Department Director Brady Bradford to discuss the COVID numbers.

“So we’re grateful that they look better than they have in months, they’ve consistently trended downward in terms of caseload for the past 2 ½ weeks. We’re down to a place where our counties are getting a couple of cases a day, instead of we were up about 30 cases a day in Carbon County for a couple of weeks there,” stated Bradford. Right now, the county is at a moderate level which is a good place to sit right before the holidays.

“Fortunately, we’re now down to one of the lowest transmissions in the state. Emery is maybe one of the bottom three counties in terms of low transmission rates, they’ve down really well. Carbon County has the last couple of weeks have done very well, and then Grand County which had been doing better, they have bumped up on us. So it’s really hard to kind of make a read but all in all locally we’re in a much better place,” said Bradford. It’s hard to predict where the numbers will be once the holidays are over but officials hope that folks will take the necessary precautions to keep themselves safe during the holidays.

COVID testing sites are still available for residents to visit in order to get testing done. “Locally we still ask for you to call in to make an appointment at the health department, but I know you can drive through with Carbon Medical, and show up to the hospital on Saturdays. Over the holidays, it might be harder to find a test right on Christmas Day or New Years Day, I don’t anticipate we’ll have as much availability,” explained Bradford. The Carbon Medical testing site is located on Main Street in Price next to Subway.

Folks will be able to obtain the vaccinee or booster shots at the health department. “Very available locally, we’re doing the most booster shots, you can still contact your pharmacies to see if they got it but locally, we’re doing booster shots all day Monday and Thursday, and in the afternoons on Tuesdays and Wednesdays,” explained Bradford. Appointments are also available by calling the health department at (435) 637-3671.

To keep up on the latest COVID information please visit the Southeast Utah Health Department website at https://www.seuhealth.com/