SALT LAKE CITY — Gov.-elect Spencer Cox said the state’s battle against the spread of COVID-19 is being lost inside Utahns’ homes, where people are failing to take precautions should an extended family member, neighbor or friend stop by.
“The spread is happening in our homes and it is killing people and overwhelming our hospitals,” Cox said Thursday. “This is crunch time. ... The next two months are absolutely critical. We are in a dire situation and we cannot emphasize that enough.”
Cox pleaded with people to exercise proper precautions in their homes such as social distancing, mask-wearing and washing of hands if an uncle, neighbor, grandchild or friend pops by.
While mask requirements can be enforced in businesses or schools, the same tools to stop the spread aren’t being used in homes as much as they should be, he added.
The lieutenant governor made the plea over COVID-19 during a Thursday transition team announcement at the state Capitol.
That transition will carry out over the next several weeks as Cox works with his self-described mentor, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, in advance of taking the gubernatorial helm on Jan. 4.
Herbert said the emergence of a new administration after more than 11 years of his leadership will be smooth and a model of cooperation.
“I believe Utah made a great choice,” Herbert said. “I also believe that Utah has the opportunity to show the nation by example how transitions take place.”
The Cox/Deidre Henderson team announced that Jon Pierpont, former executive director of the Utah Department of Workforce Services, will be appointed into the joint role of chief of staff and chief operating officer beginning in January. Jennifer Napier-Pearce, former executive editor of the Salt Lake Tribune, will be appointed as senior adviser to the governor and director of communications.
“They are the right people to help us lead Utah into the future,” Cox said.
Pierpont has been serving in the lieutenant governor’s office since July and stepped in temporarily as interim chief of staff and then as a senior adviser to Cox.
As executive editor of the Tribune, Napier-Pearce led the newspaper’s transition from a for-profit business to a nonprofit entity, the first newspaper to do so in the United States.
Lynne Ward, former deputy chief of staff for former Utah Gov. Olene Walker, and Steve Starks, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, will serve as co-chairpersons of the transition effort. Other members include Austin Cox, Natalie Gochnour and Rich McKeown.
Lt. Gov.-elect Henderson, a Utah state senator representing Spanish Fork since 2013, said the new administration will be examining three key areas in the coming weeks that include a review of state government agencies and the development of policy priorities.
To that end, Cox and Henderson announced they are assembling a team of more than 100 community leaders with broad expertise.
Leading and participating in various committee efforts are Pamela Atkinson, Bonnie Jean Beesley, Mark Bouchard, Jeff Burningham, Lisa-Michele Church, Amanda Covington, Sophia DiCaro, Kristen Edwards, Francine Giani, Mia Love, Susan Madsen, Crystal Maggelet, Lavanya Mahate, Steve Neeleman, Val Oveson, Jon Pike, Lester Rojas, Byron Russell, Aimee Winder Newton, Heidi Walker and Thomas Wright.
More will be enlisted over the next several days.
Both Cox and Henderson said pandemic response will be a critical part of their planning and they pleaded with the public to take proper precautions.
Henderson came down with COVID-19 three months ago and still struggles at times, having to turn to supplemental oxygen as her lungs continue to heal.
“I am recovering, recovering a little bit slower than I would like to, but I am recovering,” she said.
She added she does not believe the state of Utah has mishandled its coronavirus response.
“I don’t believe the state has gone in the wrong direction at all,” Henderson said.
After their news conference, state health officials announced that Utah had smashed another record for the number of daily COVID-19 cases with 2,807 new infections — over 500 more than the daily record set a week ago.
Cox said key to his incoming administration’s response will be an emphasis on vaccine distribution and more contact tracing.
“I have always believed that the gold standard is rapid surveillance testing and asymptotic testing. If we could do hundreds of thousands of those tests every week, we would be able to get ahead of the virus,” he said.
While the transition team will spend the coming weeks advising Cox and Henderson on how the new administration will take form, Cox stressed that he is committed to fulfilling his role as lieutenant governor until he takes the oath of office.
“The last thing I will say, and you will hear me say this many many times, and I will be very clear on this: Gary Herbert is the governor of the great state of Utah until Jan. 4, 2021,” he said. “And if you know anything about Gary Herbert, you know that he finishes everything he starts. He rows to the end of every row — that is how he is wired, that is how he is built.”