SALT LAKE CITY — Governor Gary Herbert has granted requests from two Utah counties to reduce their COVID-19-related restriction level.
Box Elder and Carbon counties can move from the "yellow" to the "green" level of restrictions established on Utah's color-coded COVID-19 health guidance system beginning Friday.
The state's color-coded status is tied to health guidelines that include how many people can gather and where, as well as what restaurants and businesses must do in order to stay open.
Herbert reiterated that despite the move to less restrictions, the risk of COVID-19 is still present and it's up to residents to continue to stop the spread of the virus.
In a weekly coronavirus briefing, Herbert announced a new scoreboard that will allow people to see how the state is faring in regards to case fatality ratios and unemployment rate.
"Our transmission rate is low, hospitalizations are limited, and we have a comfortable supply of PPE in the event of a resurgence." said Herbert in a tweet. "With this progress, we have begun to refine our goals to meet new challenges."
The two counties will join Beaver, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Kane, Millard, Piute, Sevier, Uintah and Wayne counties under the green "new normal" restriction level. The rest of the state's counties are still under yellow "low level" restrictions.