When the state started its unified response to the COVID-19 pandemic back in March 2020, leaders worked furiously to look at ways to support the public health experts, while minimizing impacts to Utah’s economy.
Our public health response to this COVID-19 pandemic has been stronger than any similar disease response in generations. If you study the pandemic from 1918, you’ll see that we are taking many of the same measures. We have encouraged mask wearing and social distancing. We have limited the way people gather.
Today, state leaders rolled out a new data dashboard, one that visualizes how the state will measure its progress toward strong public health and a strong economy.
The Unified Response Scoreboard champions two major goals. On the public health side, we are aiming for a case-fatality ratio of less than 1%.
We’re also actively monitoring the 7-day rolling average number of cases per day, as well as ICU utilization, and metrics regarding long term care facilities and outbreak containment efforts.
For economic recovery, we are striving to maintain or even lower the unemployment rate of 4.5% between now and the end of this calendar year. These goals are supplemented with tracking job placements. We want to increase job placements resulting in 50,000 or fewer filing weekly unemployment weekly claims by end of the year.
These metrics will be even more important to track as we move into fall and winter because a new school year, flu season and winter colds. Working the whole community, the state has created an enhanced accountability framework and new tools to drive results.
This framework is completely transparent so the public not only has full information, but so the public can be part of the solution.