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Show B-5 B-1 STITCHING TOGETHER HELP FOR THE HEROES BACKCOUNTRY CALLS, BUT DANGER REMAINS PEACE HOUSE, A-10 RESTAURANTS OPEN COLUMNS, A-12 SHELTER STILL OPEN FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS A list of establishments still open for curbside service or delivery is available at parkrecord.com. WELCOME TO THE NEW ABNORMAL, TOM CLYDE SAYS Park Record. The PA R K C I T Y, U TA H Serving Summit County since 1880 | W W W. PA R K R E C O R D . C O M Vol. 140 | No. 16 Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, March 28-31, 2020 Homeward bound $1.00 Hospital ready for a possible patient influx Facility has capacity to handle coronavirus cases and can tap into further resources if needed ALEXANDER CRAMER The Park Record TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Interstate 80 near Kimball Junction was nearly empty Wednesday at approximately 4:30 p.m., a time when the interstate is typically packed with rush-hour commuters. That afternoon, Summit County officials issued a stay-at-home order in response to the coronavirus. The order went into effect Friday. County requires residents to stay put except for essential trips as case count tops 100 BUBBA BROWN The Park Record Summit County officials on Wednesday ordered residents to remain in their homes except for certain essential trips like going to the grocery store, indicating the drastic step to combat the coronavirus is necessary because the county is among the hardest-hit areas in the nation. The order went into effect Friday and was detailed a day before the number of known cases in Summit County eclipsed 100. Local officials compared the growth rate in Summit County to that of Italy and New York City, two places where the harrowing spread of COVID-19 has left health care infrastructure inundated. Enacting the stay-at-home order will hopefully allow Summit County to avoid a similar fate, said Rich Bullough, Summit County’s health director. “We’ve taken these steps and issued this order largely to protect our health care system,” Bullough said. “There’s good reason to believe that if the rates continue to rise and the percentage of hospitalization … maintains steady, our medical system will be at capacity very soon.” The order is slated to last through May 1. It was issued by Bullough and County Manager Tom Fisher, as well as the Summit County Council, which approved it unanimously. Summit County is the first government in Utah to issue a stay-at-home order. Under the order, only essential businesses will be allowed to remain open. Those include grocery stores, banks, hardware stores, post offices, essential transportation services, senior care facilities, farming operations and media outlets. Restaurants that have transitioned to providing curbside and delivery service in compliance with a previous order may also remain open. State liquor stores will continue operating from noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, according to the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The order stipulates that non-essential businesses may operate as long as employees work from home. Residents are allowed to visit stores for necessary items like food and medicine. They may also recreate on trails or in other outdoor areas but are required to practice social distancing and must avoid places where social distancing is not possible. Otherwise, they should remain at home. “If we take action to reduce the spread of this thing, the duration of these actions might be reduced,” Bullough said. “We may be able to normalize sooner.” Additionally, those visiting Summit County must leave by April 1. Owners of second homes who are not currently in the county are asked to stay away while the order is in place, as Summit County’s health care system is not prepared to handle an influx of visitors. “This is not the place to come to ride out this storm,” Bullough said. Also banned are public and private gatherings, superseding a separate order Monday that limited them to 10 people. The ban does not apply to people sharing a household. Though Park City’s tourism industry was already essentially shut down following a March 15 order from Bullough that shuttered businesses where people gather and banned dine-in service at restaurants, Wednesday’s move further restricts the area economy at a time when business owners are typically enjoying the fruitful final weeks of ski season. Nonetheless, Bullough argued the action is vital for the community’s health. Like in many other ski destinations in the Mountain West, the Please see Stay home, A-2 Committee addresses virus downturn Group convened to explore plans to boost the economy during a time of ‘angst’ JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record A task force readying ideas to boost the Park City-area economy amid a sharp downturn as the novel coronavirus spreads recently started to meet, one of the steps taken locally to work through the current problems and plan for the community’s re-emergence. The task force is charged with the broad topic of economic resiliency. The Park City Council and the Summit County Council hold seats alongside business organizations like the Park City Chamber/Bureau and the groups representing the lodging industry, the restaurant industry and the businesses in the Main Street core. The task force met three times between last Thursday and late this week. City Hall staffers assigned to economic-development programs are also working with the task force. It seems that some of the ideas that emerge from the task force will 2 sections • 26 pages Classifieds ............................ B-10 Restaurant Guide.................... B-9 Scoreboard ............................. B-3 need to be put to a governmental body like City Hall or the County Courthouse, but the timeline is not clear as the city and the county continue to address the acute issues of the novel coronavirus. City Councilor Max Doilney represents the other municipal elected officials on the task force, putting him in a key role less than three months after his swearing-in as a member of the City Council. Doilney is a businessman with two places at the Resort Center. Both of the stores closed March 15, he said, describing a “devastating” impact on the employees. He said the workers had planned for their employment to end at the end of the ski season, as is typically the case with numerous seasonal workers across Park City annually. Instead, they were let go four weeks earlier than anticipated. “There’s some real angst out there. We need to be working quickly,” Doilney said about the task force, adding, “We are trying to figure out what are the most urgent needs, from an economic perspective.” He said the task force wants to learn what categories of people will be required to receive assistance of some sort. “Who needs help? What kind of help do they need?” he said. He also said a goal is “minimizing those negative economic impacts.” He said there could be options involving funds from any federal stimulus package. The task force was seated at a tense time in the business community with the shutdowns of Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort weeks before they were scheduled to stop turning the lifts for the ski season. Health officials also put tight restrictions on restaurants and, this week, people were ordered to stay home. There are mounting worries that the rank-and-file workers in the community will struggle financially in coming weeks and perhaps longer with the tourism industry and other sectors essentially closed. Doilney said one of the intriguing ideas that has emerged from the task force centers on the ability to “help people look for the right source for their need.” He said the needs cover a wide range. Some businesses could require a short-term loan for a small amount, such as $2,000, but others could be seeking a longer-term loan for perhaps $250,000, he said. The task force wants to learn which businesses will be eligible for Please see Downturn, A-10 MAKE A DIFFERENCE Park City Hospital is in good shape and retains capacity to see patients as it prepares for an influx of COVID-19 cases, its CEO said Friday, converting beds and reaching out to suppliers while the pandemic continues to extend its reach into the Summit County community. Lori Weston, the hospital’s CEO, said that, while the hospital is small and has been seeing people with the disease, it has capacity to spare at the moment as it concentrates its efforts on preparing for a growing number of patients. “We feel like we’re starting off in a good position,” Weston said in an interview Friday. “Of course, we’re not sure how hard we will be hit here in Utah. Hopefully, our efforts to social distance, people stay at home, stay home when you’re sick, wash your hands, those types of things, those efforts that we’ve put in place in our communities will help bend that curve so we don’t see the influx as they’re seeing in other areas of the world right now.” Weston said that crucial equipment includes ventilators, intensive-care unit beds and personal protective equipment for staff. The hospital has 40 beds, Weston said, and a half-dozen will continue to be used for labor and delivery. She said the hospital is converting regular medical beds to intensive-care beds, which require additional equipment like oxygen and power supplies. Reports coming from areas hit hard by the disease like New York City indicate medical personnel are rationing protective equipment like masks and goggles. Weston said personal protective equipment is not being rationed and that the hospital has enough equipment for now and has been in talks with suppliers about replenishing supplies if they run low. She added that the hospital has the advantage of being part of the larger Intermountain Healthcare system, which helps with supplies and excess capacity if demand for health care services spikes. “I think the thing to remember is we have capacity and we have the ability — we’re prepared to be able to take care of an influx into our hospital and into the Intermountain Healthcare system if it happens,” Weston said. “There’s plenty of space for us to move into and we’re working with the suppliers to get the necessary equipment and the (personal protective equipment) that we need.” She said that if Park City Hospital were to reach capacity, patients could be moved to other Intermountain Healthcare hospitals, and that the hospital is looking at ways to expand at its Park City location. Summit County is a hot spot for the outbreak, Weston said, with per-capita transmission rates approximately 20 times that of other areas. Intermountain Healthcare has set up two COVID-19 testing locations at its instacare clinics in Park City and Heber, where patients who have a doctor’s order can go and receive a test. Additionally, it has what Weston called a screening and testing site near the hospital and the Park City Ice Arena. There, patients can be screened to see whether they require a test, and if they do, be tested onsite. System-wide, Intermountain Healthcare has 22 curbside testing sites, according to a press release sent Tuesday. Weston requested those who are considering seeking a test to call Intermountain Healthcare’s hotline at 844442-5224. There is also a free symptom checker availPlease see Hospital, A-2 TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Park City Hospital CEO Lori Weston says the hospital is in good position to handle a potential influx of coronavirus patients. Live Like Sam, a nonprofit, is matching donations of up to $5,000 and will send the money to the Park City Community Foundation and the Christian Center of Park City to help with COVID-19 relief. Send other examples of people making a difference to editor@parkrecord.com. |