The arrival of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in New York had people lining up for testing on December 17, 2021
Representation. A COVID-19 testing line. Experts hope the U.S. will follow suit in South Africa's downtrend in daily cases after it passed the peak of its omicron wave. AFP / Ed JONES

Utah Governor Spencer Cox says there are many people “who could stand to take this disease a lot less seriously” as he announced the state will be shutting down testing sites and COVID-19 case reports.

Cox has also commended businesses that have removed mask and vaccine requirements. “It’s time to adapt,” he said. “All of the key metrics are moving in the right direction.” He also clarified, however, that “this is not the end of COVID," rather "the beginning of treating COVID as we do other seasonal respiratory viruses."

According to state data, just over 4,000 people in Utah have died from COVID-19. Over 2,000,000 have received at least one vaccine.

Utah epidemiologist Dr. Leisha Nolen says that “there’s a possibility ... of new variants coming,” in spite of high vaccination rates and access to more treatments, as reported by The Salt Lake Tribune.

As states and other nations begin to alleviate their COVID restrictions, the World Health Organization's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan stressed that additional variants are imminent and that the pandemic is not over. “We have seen the virus evolve, mutate ... so we know there will be more variants, more variants of concern,” Swaminathan said. “We are not at the end of the pandemic."

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