Category: Covid-19

A natural gas flare on an oil well pad burns as the sun sets outside Watford City, North Dakota January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Cullen

June 30 (Reuters) - Who of the traditional bulls predicted a rally that saw oil prices doubling in the last eight months? The short answer is no one.

Of more than 50 analysts polled by Reuters last October when Brent was hovering near $35 per barrel amid a second large wave of global lockdowns to slow the coronavirus pandemic, almost none dared to predict prices would approach $60.

U.S. bank Goldman Sachs saw second-quarter average prices hitting $57.50 a barrel and much smaller Houston-based consultancy Stratas Advisors had the boldest bet at $60.

As prices have exceeded $75 per barrel this June, the most accurate forecasters predict a further rally fuelled by recovering demand and tight OPEC supply albeit at a more modest pace.

Overall, the 44 analysts polled by Reuters this month forecast benchmark Brent prices to average about $67.48 a barrel this year, up from the $64.79 consensus in May.

Oil demand was seen growing by 5-7 million barrels per day (bpd) this year.

"The upward range of oil will be limited by the ability of OPEC to bring back supply to address unexpected upward movements in demand and prices," John Paisie, Stratas Advisors president, told Reuters.

Paisie predicts Brent will average around $75 a barrel in the third quarter and $78.50 in 2022, adding: "One reason that we think that increase in oil prices will be more moderate is the strength of the U.S. dollar."

A firmer greenback makes oil priced in dollars more expensive in other currencies, potentially weighing on demand.

Goldman Sachs was more bullish, seeing Brent averaging $80 a barrel in the third quarter "with potential spikes well above", with the global market facing "its deepest deficits since last summer." read more

Most analysts expect the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, or OPEC+, to gradually unwind record output cuts this year, with discussions over easing likely to start in August. read more

Oil's rally could also face headwinds from a potential U.S-Iran deal that could boost global supplies and a spike in COVID-19 cases, which could undermine demand recovery, participants said.

Analysts saw Iran potentially adding about 1-2 million bpd of output into the global market over the next six months or so.

"The main question is whether Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers are ready to accommodate Iranian volumes while maintaining a tight control on their cumulative supply under the OPEC+ deal," said Intesa Sanpaolo analyst Daniela Corsini.

Reporting by Nakul Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Arpan Varghese, Noah Browning and Louise Heavens

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Oil to sustain surprise rally despite Iran, third COVID-19 wave threat: Reuters poll - Reuters

For Dr. Andrew Wu, summertime normally means hell see more kids with sunburns, insect bites, poison ivy, stomach viruses and dehydration all related to being outside.

But this summer, the pediatrician affiliated with Virginia Hospital Center said he and his colleagues are seeing an uncharacteristic number of respiratory viral illnesses unrelated to COVID-19. Specifically, doctors are seeing a sharp uptick in the number of cases of the common cold, croup and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, he said.

The trend is playing out elsewhere, particularly in the South and Southwest, as COVID-19 cases recede, the Washington Post recently reported. In Arlington, where nearly 61% of adults are fully vaccinated, the seven-day average of net coronavirus cases is zero, according to the Virginia Dept. of Health.

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an advisory alerting clinicians and caregivers and encouraging broader testing for RSV, which causes cold-like symptoms but can lead to bronchial infections and pneumonia in children younger than one.

These illnesses typically peak in the fall and winter when children return inside and to school, Wu said. Last year and into this spring, however, many pediatricians saw few cases of the flu, RSV and the common cold. While this summer surge is likely a side effect of the pandemic, he says families ought not to worry provided their kids are vaccinated against the more serious, and potentially lethal, bacterial and viral illnesses.

Fitting the trend this past year and a half, during which nothing has been typical, respiratory virus season seems to have come out of hibernation about six months late, he said. I suspect that the current out-of-season increase stems largely from two factors: Many virus-naive children coming out of isolation and rejoining the larger world in daycares and preschools, and the general loosening of social restrictions by public health officials.

So, what should parents do to protect their children?

Wu, a parent himself, said he empathizes with parents who are worried about sending their children back to preschool and daycare, knowing that their child will likely develop a few respiratory illnesses in the first couple of months.

But he encouraged parents to send their kids to daycare or preschool anyway and not just for the benefits of quickening development, increasing socialization and improving emotional skills.

I tend to think of introduction to childcare the same way we approach food allergies. Namely, early introduction is better than late introduction, but not too early, he said. While no one wishes illness on a child, these illnesses tend to be minor and provide opportunity for a childs immune system to do what it was designed to do: fight infection.

Extending the analogy, Wu said the longer that parents voluntarily withhold potentially allergenic foods from their young children, such as peanuts, the more likely the child is to develop an allergy to that particular food.

A childs immune system could become dysregulated if not provided enough opportunities to fight infection, and could respond by developing moderate to severe allergies or autoimmune conditions, he said.

Arlington County Public Health Department spokeswoman Jessica Baxter said its not surprising to see a rise in the common cold, with masks coming off and gatherings and travel increasing the spread of germs.

She also advised making sure kids and adults are up to date on recommended vaccines, and taking other basic preventative measures.

We encourage Arlington residents to practice healthy habits that prevent the spread of all diseases such as washing your hands often, staying away from others when sick, and covering coughs and sneezes, she said.

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Colds and Other Viruses Spike in Arlington As COVID-19 Cases Stay Low - ARLnow

European governments struggled in the pandemic, facing criticism for high death rates and the slow pace of vaccination. Yet as the crisis recedes, it leaves surprising political fallout: weakened antiestablishment forces and a strengthened center.

Far-right parties in France and Germany that were once highly popular have scored badly in recent ballots and weakened in opinion polls. Support for populist opposition parties in Italy is stagnating, and their ideological allies in governments across Central Europe have either seen their ratings fall or are threatened by a strengthening opposition.

One theory is that the pandemic temporarily eclipsed these parties rallying issuesmigration, crime, Islamand not just because of a change in perception. Statistics show that many types of crime, as well as immigration in general, dropped sharply during the months of lockdowns and travel restrictions.

Another possibility, experts say, is that antiestablishment forces failed to form a coherent response to the health crisis and a plausible alternative to science-driven pandemic-management measures.

Populists across the board did try to leverage popular anger against official restrictions, often backing anti-mask and antivaccination protests, but such movements have only appealed to a tiny fraction of the electorate in Europe, said Manfred Gllner, founder of the German Forsa opinion polling group.

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Why the Covid-19 Pandemic Weakened Far-Right Groups in Europe - The Wall Street Journal

General view of old Muscat in Muscat, Oman, January 12, 2020. REUTERS/Christopher Pike

DUBAI, June 29 (Reuters) - Oman on Tuesday said it was expanding its COVID-19 vaccination drive to anyone over the age of 18, as it accelerates what has been the slowest rollout in the Gulf.

The wider coverage takes effect on Sunday, the health ministry said in a statement on state media. Previously, people over 45 had been eligible for COVID shots, alongside special categories such as frontline workers and pregnant women. read more

Media reports have said recently that hospitals nationwide were straining amid a rise in cases since January. The country has recorded 266,536 cases and 3,056 deaths in total.

Oman aims to vaccinate everyone 12 and over by the end of the year.

By mid-April, Oman had given at least one dose to around 5% of the eligible population. This had increased to 24% by June 26, according to health ministry data. A quarter of those vaccinated so far have had two doses, it showed.

Data shows 854,274 doses have been given in the country of around 4.5 million people.

Writing by Lisa Barrington;Editing by Bernadette Baum

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Oman expands COVID-19 vaccinations to over 18s - Reuters

Last May marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. That her bicentennial fell during a worldwide pandemic is both illuminating and ironic. Nightingales experience as a nurse during the Crimean War in the mid-1850s led her to three insights that came to define her professional life, insights as revolutionary as they were unpopular:

Nightingale is best known for her work illustrating the first two tenets. When she arrived at the British military hospital in the Scutari region of the Ottoman empire in November 1854, a year after the war had begun, she was horrified to learn that far more soldiers were dying of infection and poor medical care than were dying on the battlefield. Her rigorous reforms of the wretched medical conditions reforms which rankled the military higher-ups slashed the hospital mortality rate from 33% to 2% over the course of a single year.

Nightingales approach to nursing education was equally meticulous, professionalizing a field whose standards until then had ranged from uneven to abysmal. (The nursing higher-ups at the time were similarly irritated by her ruffling of the status quo.)

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The third tenet of Nightingales lifes work that medical care does not exist in a vacuum from the world around it has received less historical attention.

After the Crimean War, Nightingale turned her attention to the health of the British military in India, this time from her London home. The scope of death and suffering dwarfed what had transpired in Scutari, and these soldiers werent even fighting a war. While the British public muttered disdainfully about Indias miasmas, Nightingale focused instead on data documenting sanitation drainage, water quality, housing construction, food quality, alcohol use, and physical activity. Extending her observations to the civilian population of India, she recognized the need to target education, housing, and the legal system things we now call social determinants of health.

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Though Nightingale never budged an inch from her insistence on scrupulously trained nurses as the backbone of good medical care, she knew that this could never be enough. The conditions that people lived in were equally important if not more so for achieving the best medical outcomes.

As Covid-19 begins to recede in the U.S., Nightingales observations could hardly be more prescient. The staggeringly uneven toll of infection and death we have witnessed is a bitter confirmation of the interrelationship between health care and society. The reasons for the disparity are in plain sight: unequal distribution of economic and housing stability, jobs without sick leave or options for telecommuting, crowded homes that render social distancing elusive, long commutes to jobs and grocery stores that preclude sheltering in place, and heavier burdens of chronic disease that contribute to more severe outcomes with Covid.

There has been much talk about how to re-envision the health care system once weve achieved the much-coveted settling of the dust. Theres no doubt that the U.S. health care system needs to be more flexible and nimble in nearly every aspect medical care, public health, research, supplies, prevention, communication, vaccination. The list goes on! But even at our creative best, the medical disparities will remain entrenched unless society is re-envisioned as well. Medical care does not exist in a vacuum from the world around it.

Contagious illnesses like Covid-19 bring into stark relief the fact that health is a both a communal good and community effort. Outbreaks can neither be created by individuals or tamed by them. It takes the oft-quoted village.

One the one hand, such interdependence goes against the grain of the rugged individualism supposedly embedded in American DNA. On the other hand, Americans exhibit a strain of community engagement thats especially prominent on the neighborhood and local level. Witness the strengths of PTAs, dog runs, community bulletin boards, sports leagues, houses of worship, neighborhood watches, and local libraries. These institutions exemplify the ethos of public health: How we inhabit our shared community has far-reaching effects on everyones health.

Florence Nightingales efforts presaged the challenges that face us today. Even though her day job was as a nurse, she recognized that her mandate, by necessity, extended to educating the public and lobbying the government at all levels. (She cannily delivered her book, Notes on Hospitals, directly to Queen Victoria.) Like outspoken health care workers today, she was often told to stay in her lane. Luckily for the untold number of people who lived longer because of her efforts, she did not.

Perhaps the most apt metaphor for the Covid experience is the burning house. Everyone in the neighborhood has a vested interest in getting the fire controlled. Moreover, everyone has a vested interest in understanding why the house caught fire to begin with. What were the conditions that made it vulnerable? How can we build houses to make fires less likely? How can we structure the fire department to respond more effectively?

Remaking health care will mean focusing on the lanes that relate to educational quality, job security, housing stability, and paid sick leave (to name a few), in addition to the more traditional medical lanes like expanding primary care, enhancing mental health and addiction treatment, improving care coordination, controlling drug prices, detoxifying electronic medical records, improving patient safety, and achieving universal, equitable access to health care.

Florence Nightingale was a boots-on-the-ground clinician as well as a hands-on administrator. She worked in Scutari under grueling circumstances, up to her neck in infectious risks, much as health care workers have been doing during the coronavirus pandemic. These feats of heroism, regretfully, arent enough then or now. Improving health for all citizens will indeed require major reconfiguring of the U.S. health care system. But well only see success if we simultaneously tackle the societal conditions that foster unequal heath.

Danielle Ofri is a primary care physician at Bellevue Hospital, clinical professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine, and editor-in-chief of the Bellevue Literary Review. Her newest book is When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error (Beacon Press, April 2020).

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Florence Nightingale in the age of Covid-19 - STAT - STAT - STAT - STAT

Avera Health, based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has been at the forefront of virtual care since the mid-1990s. But with the arrival of COVID-19, the organization was challenged with revisiting its telehealth strategy to reduce virus spread while still providing essential care services to its rural communities.

Avera undertook a multifaceted approach to safer coronavirus diagnosis and treatment through telehealth, including a COVID-19 hotline, virtual visits and a hospital-at-home program. Its internationally recognized eCARE model helped to protect clinicians and staff in the emergency department, even when they were performing high-risk procedures.

There are a few keys to Avera's approach to promptly diagnosing and treating patients during a pandemic, said Dr. Andrew W. Burchett, chief medical information officer at Avera Health.

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, Avera, like many healthcare organizations, was challenged with maintaining a high level of care for its community, while reducing the risk of disease spread among patients and hospital staff," he said.

"It did this by undertaking a multifaceted approach to diagnosis and treatment, using technology to serve its community's needs while minimizing unnecessary in-person interactions."

This strategy included four main elements.

"First, the COVID Clinic, a process for coronavirus screening," Burchett said. "Patients seeking testing call a hotline nurse who then triages patients based on symptoms, exposure history and medical problems, and directs qualifying patients to a drive-up COVID testing center. Patients are swabbed in their vehicles by an employee in appropriate PPE."

Second is hospital-at-home remote monitoring for mild-illness COVID-19 patients who are recovering at home.

"Patients are given a thermometer and pulse oximeter and report data from these devices to the hospital-at-home program run by Avera physicians and nurses," he explained.

"Select patients deemed higher risk are given an HRS remote patient monitoring device and home oxygen if needed. The HRS platform provides more comprehensive data, including oxygen saturation, weight, blood pressure and temperature. It also presents patients daily questions regarding their symptoms.

"If patients begin to decompensate, physicians are immediately able to triage them for direct admission to the hospital, allowing them to bypass the emergency department and minimize exposure to other patients and staff," he added.

Third is virtual visits for non-COVID-19 patients to continue receiving routine care at home.

"Telemedicine for routine patients has become the new standard in primary care and subspecialty clinics at Avera," Burchett explained. "Endocrinology, psychiatry, dermatology and cardiology are a few specialties where virtual care has been critical."

And fourth is Avera eCARE, which allows carefor severe COVID-19 patients in the emergency room while minimizing risk to hospital staff.

"Avera has embraced this approach in subspecialties clinics, as well, protecting physicians who may be one of only a few doctors providing care in their field throughout the region," he noted.

"Endocrinology, psychiatry, dermatology and cardiology are a few specialties where virtual care has been critical. It is clear from Avera's model that telemedicine can and should be embraced in all areas of medicine, not just primary care, in order to prevent the spread of the virus, cancellation of appointments, and delays in care for patients."

Other services, like chaplaincy, social work, case management and music therapy,have been able to use virtual platforms to continue interacting with patients.

"By embracing multiple forms of technology and having a commitment to adaptability, Avera has been able to provide compassionate care to these most vulnerable patients and protect them and their caregivers from exposure and disease," he said.

When a patient presents to the emergency department at Avera, they are first triaged by a staff member at the front door to determine if their visit is coronavirus-relatedor if the patient is experiencing symptoms of coronavirus.

"Patients triaged as potentially suffering from COVID-19 are put in designated rooms in the emergency department specifically, rooms in a single hallway to prevent non-COVID patients from as much exposure as possible," Burchett said.

"From there, the patient waits until a nurse enters the roomwearing goggles or a face shield, an N95 mask covered by a surgical mask, a surgical gown, and double gloves.

"This nurse uses the Avera eCARE system to call a physician outside the room, who can then speak with the patient and do a full history," he continued. "This physician can either be on site using an iPad, or one of the physicians off site at the Avera eCARE telemedicine hub. The nurse can provide initial vital signs, as well as obtain the COVID-19 swab."

Once the history and swab are obtained, the physician on site typically dons the same PPE to do a physical exam or perform any necessary procedures.

"If a patient is very low risk and has only mild symptoms, the physician may not need to enter the room at all," he said. "This initial triage system allows for the minimum exposure possible for both the physician and that physician's non-COVID emergent patients. It also saves PPE by allowing for minimal visits into the patient's room, as the gown and gloves must be doffed before exiting.

"The physician can still regularly check in with the patient, answering their questions and providing instructions as needed via the video system," he added.

Burchett will offer more detail during his HIMSS21 session, "Virtual Care in the Age of COVID-19 and Beyond." It's scheduled for August 11, from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in Venetian Marco Polo 701.

Twitter:@SiwickiHealthITEmail the writer:bsiwicki@himss.orgHealthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.

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Telemedicine saves the day for Avera Health in the COVID-19 era - Healthcare IT News

UK Athletics (UKA) and the British Olympic Association have begun an investigation into 5,000-meter runner Andy Butchart after he claimed to fake a negative COVID-19 test in order to return to Britain following an international event.

The investigation was launched after the 29-year-old revealed how he faked a negative test result on a podcast.

"You have to get a COVID test to get into the UK, so you went to a place to get a PCR test before 48 hours -- and I'm with check-in and I don't have my PCR test back," he told the Sunday Plodcast.

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"So you have to quickly, like, get an old PCR test, go on to Instagram, f---ing scribble out the time and the date, change the time and the date, and like change it so you can get into the country."

The British Olympian would later go onto backtrack on his previous statements, telling the Times: "I never faked it, the test came through in time, but I've heard rumours of others faking tests."

A UKA spokesperson told ESPN: "UKA and the BOA are aware of comments made as part of a podcast by a selected athlete today.

"Throughout the pandemic, elite sport has been privileged to receive exemptions from various guidelines to enable athletes to continue to train and compete.

"We take very seriously any suggestion that an athlete has not followed these guidelines correctly and broken any COVID-related protocols.

"As a result, this selection will stand subject to further investigation by UK Athletics. No further comment will be made until this investigation is concluded."

Butchart has already found himself in hot water previously, having criticised both Joanna Coates -- the chief executive of UKA -- and an athletics coach on social media.

The investigation follows his inclusion into the Team GB squad that will compete in Tokyo Games.

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UK Athletics investigate Team GB's Andy Butchart over fake COVID-19 test claim - ESPN

Maine reported 32 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. There were no additional deaths.

The seven-day average of daily new cases was 25.1, compared to 34.9 a week ago and 192.9 a month ago. During the pandemics peak in mid-January, Maine was often topping 600 new cases per day.

Since the pandemic began, Maine has recorded 69,021 cases of COVID-19, and 858 deaths.

On the vaccination front, 775,491 people in Maine have received their final doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, representing 57.7 percent of the states 1.3 million population.

To try to further boost vaccination rates, Maine has launched a sweepstakes called Dont Miss Your Shot: Vaccinationland Sweepstakes where the winner, to be announced on July 4, will receive $1 for every person in Maine with at least one shot. The deadline to register is midnight Wednesday.

Through Monday, 285,452 people had signed up for the sweepstakes. Only those who have received at least one dose are eligible for the prize.

However, immunizations in Maine have slowed to a crawl, with 8,816 doses given in the most recent week, through Monday, compared to 19,699 the previous week. In late April, when Mainers were clamoring for shots, the state was giving about 85,000 to 90,000 weekly.

Meanwhile, the Maine Hospital Association is advocating for the state to mandate that all health care workers be vaccinated against COVID-19, once federal regulators give full approval for the vaccines.

The vaccines currently in use Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson were approved in 2020 and early 2021 by the FDA under an emergency use authorization. Studies showed the vaccines worked and have worked safely and effectively as theyve been given to millions of people worldwide starting in December.

The full approval process takes longer, but the vaccines were given the green light by the FDA for emergency use because of the worldwide pandemic.

Health care worker vaccination data published by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention last week shows wide variations in vaccination rates among the states hospitals and nursing homes.

This story will be updated.

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Maine reports 32 new cases of COVID-19 - Portland Press Herald - Press Herald

As the COVID-19 vaccination rate slows down in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 54 percent of the eligible population was fully vaccinated as of Monday morning red states are falling behind. The lowest vaccination rates are in deep-red states like Mississippi and Alabama, while deep-blue states like Vermont and Massachusetts have had far more success in vaccinating their residents.

This widening gulf between red and blue states has reignited fears that politics is seriously undermining the nations vaccination efforts. And for good reason: There is a stark and growing divide in the vaccination rates in Republican- and Democratic-leaning parts of the country. But the singular focus on politics ignores the critical role that social pressure plays in deciding whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

For starters, Republicans are simply less likely to have friends who have been vaccinated. In a May survey conducted by the American Enterprise Institutes Survey Center on American Life, where I serve as director, less than half of Republicans (46 percent) said that most or all of their friends had received at least a single dose of the vaccine. For Democrats, meanwhile, vaccination is the norm among their peers. Two-thirds said that most or all of their friends had been at least partially vaccinated.

Moreover, Republicans were far less likely than Democrats in this survey to have received any encouragement from friends or family members to get vaccinated (28 percent versus 55 percent, respectively). In fact, one in three Republicans reported that friends or family had advised them not to get the vaccine or that they had received mixed messages about the importance of getting one.

This finding is noteworthy because while partisanship is a factor in influencing our behaviors, social science research consistently shows that our friends exert a profound and often invisible influence on us. For instance, if you have friends who smoke or are obese, your chances of smoking or being obese increase significantly.

So it may be for getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Americans whose immediate social circle was entirely vaccinated were far more likely than those with fewer vaccinated friends to have gotten the vaccine themselves per the study by the Survey Center on American Life. And despite reporting higher rates of vaccine hesitancy overall, this was true among Republicans as well. Ninety-three percent of Republicans whose friends were at least partially vaccinated had also been vaccinated. By contrast, only 19 percent of Republicans with just a few or no friends who were partially vaccinated said that they had gotten the jab.

Share of respondents who are at least partially vaccinated by how many of their friends are also at least partially vaccinated, overall and by party

Respondents self-reported the vaccination status of their social group.

Source: Survey Center on American Life

Of course, self-selection may play a role in this relationship, as our friends generally share our values, but even when this study controlled for personal factors such as age, gender, race, ethnicity and political affiliation, the results indicated that the vaccination status of our friends strongly predicts our own.

We should not dismiss the role of politics in vaccine hesitancy, but among Republicans, this reluctance is not universal. Nor are the reasons for this reluctance uniformly political. A May Kaiser Family Foundation survey found, for instance, that the political gap among people age 65 and older was relatively modest. Older Americans in Trump-voting counties did not lag far behind those in Biden-voting counties in getting vaccinated (63 percent versus 71 percent). Rather, the age group expressing the greatest level of vaccine hesitancy was younger adults: A June Morning Consult survey found that 43 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds were unwilling to get or uncertain about getting vaccinated.

Because COVID-19 is so much more dangerous for older people, they likely have greater personal incentives to get vaccinated, but they also probably face more social pressure as well. Again, the Survey Center on American Life study found that older Americans Democrats and Republicans alike were far more likely than younger Americans to have vaccinated friends.

Americans experience widely different levels of social pressure to get the COVID-19 vaccine. And for better or worse, our friends exercise considerable influence over the information we have and the decisions we make.

Excerpt from:

Peer Pressure, Not Politics, May Matter Most When It Comes To Getting The COVID-19 Vaccine - FiveThirtyEight

(Salt Lake City, UT) The number of people getting tested for COVID-19 in Utah has decreased dramatically in recent months and public health officials want to remind everyone testing is still important in this response. COVID-19 testing has declined from 32,536 tests done statewide during the week of November 19, 2020 to only 5,894 tests done statewide the week of June 14, 2021. Even though much of the focus is now on vaccines, there are still several good reasons to make sure you get tested.

1.The pandemic isnt over yet. In fact, now that new variants are circulating and some are even more transmissible, finding out if youre positive and isolating can prevent you from exposing others.

2.If you have symptoms and test positive, you can isolate and stay away from others. Stay home except to get medical care. Visithttps://coronavirus.utah.gov/protect-yourself/for more information.

3.You should be tested if youve been in close contact with someone who tests positive.

4.Some employers may require a negative test before you return to work.

5.Hospitals are offering elective surgeries and you may need to be tested for COVID before you have the procedure.

6.Travel restrictions are different in various parts of the world and you may need proof of a negative test before traveling.

The following testing sites are offered this week throughout Utah.

All of these testing sites offer PCR and rapid antigen tests.

All of these testing sites offer testing for children ages three and older.

Many testing locations will be closed Saturday, July 3, and Monday, July 5, in observance of Independence Day.

Locations selected for testing this week include:

TestUtah sites:

Box Elder County:

Brigham City Community Hospital, 950 Medical Dr., Brigham City (drive-through), Friday, 7/212 p.m. to 7 p.m.Registerhere.

Cache County:

Hyrum (drive-through),695 E Main St., Logan, Thursday, 7/112 p.m. to 7 p.m. Registerhere.

Davis County:

Ellison Park, 700 N. 2200 W., Layton (drive-through), Monday, 6/2812 p.m. to 7 p.m. Registerhere.(No testing Monday, July 5.)

Grand County:

Southeast Utah Health Department, 575 S. Kane Creek, Moab (drive-through),Friday, 7/212 p.m. to 7 p.m. Registerhere.

Iron County:

Fiddlers Canyon, 170 E. Fiddlers Canyon, Cedar City (drive-through), Wednesday, 6/308 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday, 7/212 p.m. to 7 p.m. Registerhere.

Juab County:

Juab High School, 802 North 650 East, (southeast parking lot) Nephi, Tuesday, 6/298 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registerhere.

Salt Lake County:

Centennial Park, 5405 W. 3100 S., West Valley City (drive-through), Monday, 6/2812 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Tuesday, 6/298 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registerhere.(No testing Monday, July 5.)

Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Complex, 5624 Cougar Lane, Kearns (drive-through in the east parking lot), Monday through Thursday, 6/28 to 7/17 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Registerhere.(No testing Monday, July 5.)

Summit County:

Park City High School, 1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City (drive-through), Wednesday, 6/3012 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursday, 7/18 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registerhere.

Utah County:

Wride Park, 5806 Pony Express Pkwy., Eagle Mountain, Monday, 6/2812 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Tuesday, 6/298 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registerhere.(No testing Monday, July 5.)

Utah County Health Department, 285 N. 1250 E., Payson, Wednesday, 6/3012 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursday, 7/18 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registerhere.

Lehi Round-up Rodeo Grounds, 105 N 500 W, Lehi, Friday, 7/2 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Registerhere.

Weber County:

North Shore Aquatic Center, 2480 N. 200 E., North Ogden (drive-through), Tuesday, 6/2912 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Wednesday, 6/308 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registerhere.

Results of tests from TestUtah sites will be emailed with a link to the patient portal where results can be accessed. For issues with accessing TestUtah results, please call (801) 783-1829.

UDOH/National Guard mobile test team sites:

Davis County:

5-C Freeport West (from Antelope Drive, enter at 300 W. and continue to C Street) Clearfield, Monday, 6/28, Wednesday, 6/30, Friday, 7/27 a.m. to 12 p.m. Registerhere.(No testing Monday, July 5.)

Davis Technical College, 550 E. 300 S., Kaysville (testing location will be at 500 E. on the west side of the campus and use parallel parking along the street) Tuesday, 6/29 through Friday, 7/22 p.m. to 5 p.m. Registerhere.

Salt Lake County:

Cannon Health Building, 288 N. 1460 W., Salt Lake City, MondayFriday, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Registerhere.(No testing Monday, July 5.)

Utah State Fair Park (building #51), 155 N. 1000 W., Salt Lake City (enter through the northwest corner at 300 N. and 1200 W.), Monday, Wednesday, and Friday11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Registerhere.(No testing Saturday, July 3 or Monday, July 5.)

Utah Public Health Laboratory, 4431 S. 2700 W., Taylorsville (drive-through in the west parking lot), MondayFriday, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Registerhere.(No testing Monday, July 5.)

Maverik Center, 3200 S. Decker Lake Dr., West Valley City, (drive-through), MondayFriday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registerhere.(No testing Monday, July 5.)

Cottonwood Heights City Hall, 2277 East Bengal Blvd., Cottonwood Heights (mobile van testing held in City Hall parking lot), Wednesday, 6/308 a.m. to 12 p.m. Registerhere.

Murray High School, 5450 South State Street, Murray (mobile van event to be held in the high school parking lot on the State Street side of the school), Monday, 6/28, and Wednesday, 6/308 a.m. to 12 p.m. (both days) Registerhere.(No testing Monday, July 5.)

Highland High School, 2166 South 1700 East (mobile van event in the high school parking lot, enter on 2100 S.), Salt Lake City, Tuesday, 6/29 Thursday 7/18 a.m. to 12 p.m. Registerhere.

Rio Tinto Stadium, 9256 S. State St., Sandy, Monday, 6/28 and Wednesday, 6/302 p.m. to 5 p.m. (both days) Registerhere.(No testing Monday, July 5.)

Utah County:

Utah Valley University, UVU L10 parking lot: northeast corner of 800 S. and 1200 W. by the athletic field (drive-through), Wednesday, 6/302 p.m. to 5 p.m. Registerhere.

Nebo School District Offices, 350 S. Main,(mobile van testing in the south parking lot), Spanish Fork, Monday, 6/28, Friday, 7/28 a.m. to 12 p.m. (each day) Registerhere.(No testing Monday, July 5.)

Grandview Learning Center, 1591 Jordan Avenue (mobile van testing in the east side parking lot), Provo, Tuesday, 6/29 and Thursday, 7/12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Registerhere.

Westlake High School, 99 North Thunder Blvd., (mobile van testing in the south parking lot by the band trailer), Saratoga Springs, Monday, 6/28 and Wednesday, 6/302 p.m. to 5 p.m. (both days) Registerhere.(No testing Monday, July 5.)

Utah County Health Department, 354 E. 500 S., American Fork, Tuesday, 6/29 and Friday, 7/22 p.m. to 5 p.m. Registerhere.

Weber County:

Weber State University, 1348 E. 3850 S., (lower campus, right in front of the information booth) Ogden, Tuesday, 6/298 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Friday, 7/22 p.m. to 5 p.m. Registerhere.

Test results from these locations will be emailed to you in an encrypted file fromCV19result@utah.gov30 minutes to several hours after your test is done. If the testing location is extremely busy, it may take a while to process your results. If you dont see an email in your inbox, look in spam or junk mail. Or try to open the email on a non-app browser (chrome, firefox, etc.) and on a computer or non-phone device. If you have trouble opening the email or it doesnt come within a few hours, call (385) 273-7878 for assistance.

For the most accurate results, we recommend that people without symptoms receive a PCR test. PCR results are available within 2-3 business days. Antigen (rapid) results are available within two hours.

For other testing locations visit:https://coronavirus.utah.gov/covid-testing-locations-list.

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Testing Remains a Critical Piece in Fighting COVID-19 | Utah Department of Health - Utah Department of Health