SALT LAKE CITY — As early as the end of next week, Utah could begin allowing restaurants, gyms, golf courses and other recreational businesses to reopen, Gov. Gary Herbert confirmed Friday.
During a media briefing, Herbert referred to a color-coded health guidance system that classifies the level of risk for areas in the state by color. Under the system, red represents “high risk,” orange represents “moderate risk,” yellow means “low risk” and green will stand for the “new normal.”
“I want the people to know that as soon as possible I plan to change the risk category for much of the state from red to orange as early as the end of next week,” Herbert declared.
The potential move comes after recommendations earlier this week to relax restrictions from the Utah Public Health and Economic Emergency Commission. Herbert was given until April 30 to decide whether to adopt the recommendations or provide details on why he wouldn’t.
Though the shift won’t mean “business as usual” for most Utahns, according to the governor, it will allow some businesses that had closed to reopen.
For example, restaurants that had been closed to all but take-out and delivery services will likely be able to reopen to inside dining, with some limitations including frequent screening of employees for symptoms and spacing of tables, Herbert said. Gyms, golf courses and other outdoor recreation might also be allowed to reopen.
More nonessential travel could be allowed under the loosened restrictions, he said.
New cases
Meanwhile, Utah on Friday reported four more deaths related to the novel coronavirus, bringing the state’s death toll to 39.
Three lived in Salt Lake County long-term care facilities with outbreaks. The fourth, a Utah County resident, was hospitalized at the time of death and had underlying conditions, said Dr. Angela Dunn, state epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health.
The Beehive State also announced 170 additional confirmed cases of the virus, bringing the total to 3,782. Just under 84,700 people have now been tested for the virus, about 2.6% of the population.
One of those cases was at the Gail Miller Resource Center in Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake County Health Department will work with service providers to test individuals who are considered at risk for exposure, which includes about 100 clients, according to Salt Lake County communications director Chloe Morroni.
Personnel at the center have been diligent in trying to prevent the spread, and Morroni said in a statement that officials felt that delayed a positive case “for as long as possible.” They plan to continue extra cleaning and distancing measures, as well as daily screenings for temperature or other symptoms. They will also test as often and as many people as they feel necessary.
The rate of those who have tested positive stands at about 4.5%.
“So we have started to look at our case trends by smaller areas, and we’ve noticed some promising trends in these areas,” Dunn said. For example, Summit County, an early hot spot, swiftly issued a shelter-in-place order and ramped up contact tracing and testing.
“And they’ve seen successes due to these efforts. They’ve had a steady decline in cases since April 2. So this is evidence that social distancing and our public health actions are working to control this pandemic, so we encourage all parts of Utah to continue adhering to the governor’s ‘stay home, stay safe’ directive so that we can continue to control this pandemic,” Dunn said.
Beginning next week, free testing will be available every Tuesday and Thursday at the Utah Partners for Health clinic in Midvale, 7651 S. Main, the epidemiologist said.
As Utah implements its plan to reopen in phases, Herbert reiterated encouragement for those at risk to take additional precautions and for everyone to continue practicing good hygiene and wear face masks when in public.
According to Utah data, the transmission rate has decreased to each person with the virus transferring it to only one other person, instead of each person passing it on to up to five people, Herbert said. Hospitalization rates have also decreased and “we have a lot of hospital beds available.”
The state has still not released current hospitalization numbers, but 315 people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 at some point during the pandemic.
The decision to move into the “orange” phase will be made with data in mind and not “fear-mongering” or politics, the governor said.
Tracing, testing
Utah can run up to 9,000 tests per day, he said. Continuing extensive testing will enable officials to catch and address “hot spots” in the marketplace as the economy reopens. The state has also ramped up its contact-tracing capabilities with over 1,000 public employees volunteering to help.
Nationally, experts see extensive contact tracing efforts and increased testing as the only way to stave off future waves of the virus as public health orders get lifted.
“We think it may take as many as 100,000 workers to accomplish this across the country at a cost of about $3.6 million,” Dr. Crystal Watson, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said Friday.
Health officials, including in Utah, have expressed concern about a potential fall wave of the virus when flu season typically begins.
“I think if we have this capacity built around the country, we can in large part prevent that because there won’t be this large pool of unrecognized people that are transmitting the virus in our communities,” Watson said.
In its contact tracing efforts, Utah on Wednesday announced a new smartphone application that could help to trace people who might have become infected with the novel coronavirus.
Watson said that such apps will help nationally by giving public health workers additional information, but won’t be the answer to the problem.
“We need a massive workforce upgrade for public health,” she said.
A breakdown of Utah COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths by health district:
- Salt Lake County, 1,975; 174 hospitalized; 23 deaths.
- Utah County, 669; 36 hospitalized; 7 deaths.
- Summit County, 351; 31 hospitalized; 0 deaths.
- Davis County, 256; 21 hospitalized; 2 deaths.
- Weber-Morgan, 140; 16 hospitalized; 2 deaths.
- Wasatch County, 129; 6 hospitalized; 1 death.
- Southwest Utah, 81; 9 hospitalized; 1 death.
- Bear River, 59; 10 hospitalized; 1 death.
- Tooele County, 47; 5 hospitalized; 0 deaths.
- San Juan County, 37; 5 hospitalized; 2 deaths.
- TriCounty (Uinta Basin), 9; 1 hospitalized; 0 deaths.
- Central Utah, 21; 1 hospitalized; 0 deaths.
- Southeast Utah, 8; 0 hospitalized; 0 deaths.