Prom season is in the air, but COVID-19 continues to impact social gatherings.
Tara Low owns Posh, a salon on Main Street in Midway. She said the prom season in her salon isn't as busy as it used to be. She said her business caters primarily to locals.
"With prom around here, I don't get a lot of clients anymore because they do group dates with color and stuff and haircuts, and there's a lot of nails that go on for prom preparation,” Low said.
Wasatch High School’s prom was held on Saturday, April 16. All students attending prom were required to take a COVID-19 test before the event.
One of Low's regular clients, a 17-year-old, came in for a dye job before the event.
"The whole time we were here, we were talking about her dress, how excited she was, and she had to test,” she said. “Everybody had to test 72 hours or sooner to go to prom at Wasatch High School. She had tested negative. And while she was here, processing her color, she had gotten a call, and her boyfriend had tested positive."
Low said she was devastated and didn't go with a group because she didn't want to leave her boyfriend behind.
Low thinks it was a mistake to hold the activity because it has been such a challenging academic year.
"I just think they should have skipped it. I don't think they should have done these activities this year and just concentrate on the education part of it and get our kids educated."
Across the county, South Summit’s senior prom was held on March 27. All students had to produce a negative COVID test two days before the event.
South Summit School District Public Relations Officer Jody Jones said the prom was held at the DeJoria Center in Kamas, which provided adequate room. Students and chaperones wore masks and the school nurse screened for symptoms at the door.
"Unfortunately for our senior prom, we did have two students who tested positive when we did our two-day prior testing,” Jones said. “So, those students were not able to attend their senior prom. They were invited back to come for the junior prom."
Jones said some students bringing dates from other schools were required to prove negative test results before prom.
Park City School District also requires COVID testing prior to attending prom.
