In a press conference held during a special meeting with the Wasatch County Council on Monday, March 16 at 5 pm, Wasatch County Health Department Director Randall Probst announced recommendations to provide limitations for dine in restaurants, movie theaters, and public gatherings. Wasatch County Health Department’s Order only encompasses recommendations. The Health Department can change the Order to a Declaration at any time. Triggers to do this include compliance with the recommendations and number of Covid-19 cases.
Concerns over the number of people inside the grocery stores continues to be a concern for the health of the citizens of Wasatch County. Danny Goode encouraged citizens to shop, “but be mindful of other people, services will still be provided to our community, including power, waste management, water treatment and sewer.”
The Senior Citizen Center has closed it’s lunch gatherings for now, but seniors can receive the Meals on Wheels program as usual. The county council will meet daily at 5 pm to discuss any changes to the situation. Goode reminded, “People need to still live their lives. We encourage high school students to stay in place and isolate any further contamination, but we do encourage people to move forward with their lives, get out and go on walks.”
Randall Probst encourages people to be mindful of social spacing, and “exercise good hygiene, typically with the grocery stores you can avoid those rush hour times”. County council Chairman Danny Goode encourages the community to follow the guidelines to help avoid the spread of the virus any more through our community. For more information go to: http://coronavirus.wasatch.utah.gov/
As of March 15, 2020, the CDC indicates that there are over 160,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 3,000 of those cases in the United States including 29 in Utah. We now have a confirmed case in Wasatch County; and WHEREAS, On March 13, 2020, the Governor dismissed all Utah public schools for two weeks to combat the spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, On March 15, 2020, CDC released Interim Guidance for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) recommending “for the next 8 weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States. Examples of large events and mass gatherings include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies; and WHEREAS, Utah Code Annotated Section 26A-1-114 authorize the local health department to:
establish, maintain, and enforce isolation and quarantine, and exercise physical control over property and over individuals as the local health department finds necessary for the protection of the public health;
establish measures not in conflict with state law which are desirable for the promotion or protection of the public health and the control of disease; or may be necessary to ameliorate the major risk factors associated with the major causes of injury, sickness, death, and disability; and
close theaters, schools, and other public places and prohibit gatherings of people when necessary to protect the public health; and
WHEREAS, WCHD recognizes that confirmed community transmission in the United States significantly increases the risk of exposure and infection to the general public within Wasatch County which creates an extreme public health risk that may spread quickly.
NOW THEREFORE, The Wasatch County Health Officer, WCHD Board of Health, and the Wasatch County Emergency Management Board, issue the following recommendations: 1. The COVID-19 virus is an epidemic that warrants measures necessary for the protection of the public health. 2. Consistent with the Governor’s and CDC directive: No mass gatherings over Fifty (50) people shall be held: provided however, that in the event any individual over the age of sixty (60) is present, the size of such gathering shall be limited to twenty (20);
Access to long-term care facilities shall be limited to close family relatives and facility staff. 3. Restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, and theaters should close to dining in the establishment. Should they remain open, the following is recommended:
Operate on a limited basis to maximize social distancing.
Restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, and theaters should limit the number of diners to 50% of fire code capacity or permitted capacity.
In facility, dining should be by reservation only to manage the numbers.
Restaurants and facilities such as theaters, bars, and bowling alleys should arrange customers in such a way as to maximize social distancing and achieve a distance of 6 feet between groups of customers.
Counter service restaurants should restrict service to take-out or drive-through service only. 4. Lodging facilities should discontinue use of all communal facilities (pools, hot tubs saunas, team rooms, fitness centers, conference rooms, and food service items except for room service). 5. Other public gathering places such as gyms, health clubs, recreational facilities, churches, and dance and performance clubs should have access limited as detailed herein. 6.
Wasatch County Health Department will not approve any new mass gathering permits until further notice. 7. General Recommendations for business protocols. The following recommendations are in addition to the regular permit requirements:
Implement social distancing measures of six feet in communal areas of the establishment.
Staff who take cash or credit cards should use cleaning measures between each transaction.
Management should ensure daily that no employee who presents symptoms of illness (fever, shortness of breath and/or cough) would be permitted to work.
Where appropriate, employers should engage their employees to work remotely from home. Many in the community are already implementing these recommendations on their own. We recognize the community effort to work together to address this rapidly changing pandemic. Failure to comply with these recommendations or an increasing number of cases may result in a mandatory order.
AUTHORIZED, this 16th day of March, 2020 and shall remain in effect for the next 30 days. We will re-evaluate and make changes as needed.
