Since March 2020, a total of 43 San Juan County residents have passed away with the COVID-19 virus. Two recent victims in the Blanding area were breakthrough cases, meaning they had previously been vaccinated against the virus.
The fatal breakthrough cases in the Blanding area include a woman in her 70s who passed away in October and a man in his 70s who passed away in November.

San Juan County welcomes its newest Public Health Director in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. The department has been without a director the entire year, after former director Kirk Benge accepted a role in Uintah County. 
In October, the county hired Dr. Grant Sunada, who comes to the position with several academic degrees and 15 years of experience in Public Health.

Blue Mountain Hospital is excited to announce that it now provides an extra level of support to its patients through a telehealth partnership with Intermountain Healthcare.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in San Juan County continues to grow, exploding to 99 cases as of September 3. 
The number has increased from 28 to 99 active cases in the one month between August 3 and September 3.
San Juan Public Health states that almost all of the current active cases are assumed to be from the Delta variant that has spread across the globe.

by Bill Boyle
San Juan Record Editor
The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to impact life in San Juan County. Students and faculty in six of the 12 public schools in San Juan County are attending school under a mask mandate.

After several months of declining numbers, it appears as if the incidence of COVID-19 is on the rise again in San Juan County.
The most recent figures released by San Juan Public Health show a steady rise in the number of active cases of the virus, which was first found in San Juan County 17 months ago.
The number of active cases has more than doubled since the beginning of August.

The San Juan Health District board approved a property tax rate on June 17 that will lower overall collections for the district, even while it will mean a tax increase for some property owners.
“The board wanted to do their very best to provide some level of relief,” explained health district CEO Clayton Holt of the decision.

Blue Mountain Hospital (BMH) Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Lyman won the Excellence in Care During COVID-19 award at the ninth annual Rural Hospital Administrators Summit on June 10 in Bryce Canyon, UT. 

Despite a host of challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic, construction crews are making progress on the new Spanish Valley Clinic of the San Juan Health District. 
The $6.4 million project is scheduled to be completed in October, with an opening planned for November.

Even though more than two-thirds of San Juan County residents are not yet fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, the interest in vaccinations appears to be dropping.
“Interest is so sparse right now,” said Mike Moulton, the interim director of the San Juan Public Health District. “We are not doing many here at the health department.”

As of April 13, there are 14 active cases of COVID in San Juan County with seven active cases in Blanding, and seven other cases split between Monticello and the Navajo Nation portion of San Juan County.
7,741 people have been vaccinated in San Juan County including 4,711 who have been fully vaccinated. Of the 12,526 doses administered Utah Navajo Health System has administered 9,997 and San Juan County has administered 2,529.

Active cases of COVID-19 continue to fall, with just 12 active cases reported in San Juan County on March 30.
Throughout the pandemic, the county has provided specific case numbers for each community. However, the county does not report community totals if the area has five or less cases to protect the confidentiality of those with COVID.
As of March 30, no community in the county has more than five active cases.

Last week, Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced that starting March 24 everyone 16 and older in Utah will be eligible to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
The news comes as the 37th person to die with COVID-19 in San Juan County was reported last week. A Blanding man in his 60s passed away earlier in March.

Twelve months after the coronavirus arrived in San Juan County, more than one-third of county residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The shot is now available for all adults in the county.
Large allotments of vaccines to Utah Navajo Health System (UNHS) has made it possible to hold more than 20 drive-thru vaccination clinics throughout San Juan County since vaccination began in December.

Less than one month after the COVID-19 vaccines were made available, approximately 11 percent of San Juan County’s 14,800 residents have received the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Through January 26, a total of 1,675 residents have received the first dose of the vaccine, with about 300 receiving their second shot.