SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah, May 21, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — The Salt Lake County Health Department COVID-19 testing site located at the Maverik Center overflow parking lot will officially end operations at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 28 due to decreased demand.
Testing requests have decreased to fewer than 85 per day, compared to 1,200 per day at the height of testing demand in November 2020, said a news release from the health department. The department’s test administrators have provided over 30,000 COVID-19 tests at the site since it began operations in early June 2020. SLCoHD will continue offering COVID-19 vaccinations at the Maverik Center’s main parking lot.
“Demand for testing has declined in the last couple months as vaccines became widely available,” said Dr. Dagmar Vitek, SLCoHD Medical Director. “This operation has served its purpose and with other local testing opportunities widely available, it’s the right moment to transition public health’s resources to vaccination and other community needs. The teams working there have done an outstanding job.”
Staff currently deployed to the testing site will be redirected toward COVID-19 vaccination efforts and other public health functions, though SLCoHD will continue to deploy outbreak-driven mobile testing units as necessary, and evaluate potential additional testing needs in the community, the news release said.
People seeking COVID-19 tests can still access them; there are multiple testing options in the county, including sites operated by healthcare providers, private labs, TestUtah, the Utah Public Health Laboratory, and local pharmacies. For more information on how to access these testing resources, visit the state’s COVID-19 test locator here.
