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Thursday, April 9, 2020
Central Utah Public Health Department Announces New COVID-19 Case in Juab County
RICHFIELD - The Central Utah Public Health Department (CUPHD) has announced an additional positive case of the coronavirus, COVID-19, in the Central Utah Health District. This second confirmed case is a female, between the ages of 18-60, currently recovering in their home in Juab County. This case differs from the first announced case earlier this week, in Millard County, in that there was no travel or interaction with a known confirmed case prior to the patient becoming symptomatic. This marks Central Health District’s first case of community spread/ community acquired coronavirus. “Community spread of the virus indicates that through our investigation we are not able to link this case to another confirmed case of COVID-19 or through associated travel. This means that the case was likely contracted locally.” said Nate Selin, the Executive Director of CUPHD. CUPHD Update Cont'd on page 7
Issue # 1354
Escalante Interagency Visitor Center Closed to Public; Travelers are Asked to Stay Home by Garfield County Office of Tourism
Boulder Town Council April by Tessa Barkan
The Escalante Interagency Visitor Center is closed to the public until further notice. ESCALANTE - Escalan- through Highway 12, and re- Office of Tourism Executive te’s Interagency Visitor Center portedly a number of camp- Director Falyn Owens said the stands shuttered to the public ers are still found out in the county has, “Taken down any with a “Sorry, We’re Closed” back country, but activity in advertising targeting people to sign. A few errant travelers Escalante is significantly less come down right now,” saying continue to make their way than usual. Garfield County that instead they are engaged
Utah's Rural Hospitals Brace for Influx of Coronavirus Cases
Coronavirus Case Counts are Going to Go Up – But that Doesn’t Mean Social Distancing is a Bust
Insider
in “Plan now, travel later,” messaging to inspire travel in the future. —Insider
BOULDER - The April Boulder Town Council meeting was held electronically through Zoom. First on the agenda was the adoption of Resolution 2020-2, to allow electronic meetings of the Town Council and Planning Commission. Department reports followed. The library is temporarily closed and the Boulder Arts Council has postponed all events through April. The Fire Department has asked for equipment and gear for their two newest members. This money has already been budgeted and will most likely be granted after further conversation with the Department. The Planning Commission has approved the Conditional Use Permit for the Boulder Mountain Lodge’s new structure. A Conditional Use Permit for Sugar Loaf Valley Farms was discussed as well, but more work will have to be done before it can be approved. The Table Boulder Council Cont'd on page 7
Even Queen Elizabeth is Prepared!
The English / Hawaiian themed Double Decker Drive-In restaurant in Loa is open for carry-out only and the Queen has also taken precautions
by Abram Wagner Research Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, The Conversation SQuintans/AdobeStock
Almost one third of Utah's population lives in rural parts of the state, and will depend on a network of rural hospitals in case they are affected by the coronavirus pandemic. SALT LAKE CITY - In the COVID-19 pandemic, where you live in Utah could be a major factor in your chances of surviving a bout of new coronavirus. Almost one-third of Utah's 3.2 million residents live outside of the Salt Lake City metro area and are served by a network of 21 rural hospitals and 14 rural clinics. While the majority of Utah cases have so far occurred in urban areas, public health officials are concerned that a surge in the number of serious cases could overwhelm rural facilities. Greg Rosenvall is the rural hospital development director for the Utah Hospital Association. He says they are limited in their ability to treat patients in serious condition. "The rural hospitals in
Utah are planning to try to take care of some inpatients," says Rosenvall. "But if those patients go into more of an acuity status where ventilators are needed, they're not going to be able to handle many of them." He says while some of Utah's rural hospitals have been ranked among the best in the country, there is only so much critical care they can provide. Rosenvall says that with more serious cases, rural hospitals will send patients to larger hospitals if they have the capacity. "We're relying heavily on the ability of the urban hospitals to take transports" says Rosenvall, "and if they lose Rural Hospitals Cont'd on page 2
REGIONAL WEATHER FORECAST FOR SOME BUT NOT ALL REGIONS REPRESENTED IN OUR NEWSPAPER COVERAGE AREA
THURS. APRIL 9 - WED. APRIL 15
A bit cooler on Thursday, 40s, and a 50% chance of rain, warming up to the 60s through the weekend. Monday brings temps back in the low 50s with some clouds and chances of precip, 25%, through the rest of the week. Lows in the 20s and low 30s.
U.S. - The last few weeks have brought previously unimaginable changes to the lives of people throughout the United States. Americans everywhere are waking up to a new reality in which they can’t go to work or school outside the home and they have to stay six feet away from others. More than 80% of Americans are under such stay-at-home orders. People are also seeing charts in the news showing rapidly increasing case counts. This is likely to continue to occur. The United States surpassed Italy and China to have the most confirmed cases of any country. Americans might begin to wonder if these social distancing measures are working if the case numbers keep climbing. The problem is that the number of reported cases is not the same as the number of people who are infected. It takes time for people to develop symptoms, seek treatment and get tested and for the results to come back. So the effects of social distancing might not be Social Distancing
Courtesy Annette Elmer
This photo was submitted to The Insider by Annette Elmer, owner of the Double Decker Drive-In in Loa. How are you or your business coping with social distancing? Send us your photos, your name and location, and a brief description at snapshot@live.com. We may feature yours in a future issue!
COVID-19 Community Resources
• Utah Coronavirus Information Line: 1-800-456-7707.
• State of Utah COVID-19 Updates: https://coronavirus.utah.gov/ • Garfield County Email Hotline: COVID19@garfield.utah.gov • Wayne Community Health Center in Bicknell: (435) 425-3744
Cont'd on page 10
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. —Marie Curie
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PRE-SORT STANDARD PAID RICHFIELD, UTAH PERMIT No. 122