Emily Means

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert announced Wednesday afternoon a moratorium on evictions for the next month, to help residential tenants who can’t pay rent due to the impacts of COVID-19. 

It’s the first of the month. For nearly one in three Utah households, rent is due.

The Utah Department of Workforce Services reported nearly 20,000 new claims for unemployment benefits from March 15 to March 21. The industry that saw the highest number of claims was food preparation and serving, with 37% of the claims.

The Utah Department of Health reported more than 1,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases Wednesday and seven related deaths. 

State epidemiologist Angela Dunn says Utah’s growth in COVID-19 cases does not appear to be exponential and over the past couple days has even flattened a bit. But looking at the past two weeks, Dunn says that doesn’t mean Utah is in the clear.

After receiving applications from around 80 people from all over the country, Park City Municipal has hired two new, locally sourced deputy city managers.

State leaders are treating Utah’s COVID-19 outbreak as an emergency. 

The state has convened a unified command to address the COVID-19 outbreak. Each day, representatives from the Utah Department of Health, Emergency Management, the Utah National Guard and other state agencies, as well as a representative from FEMA, coordinate their response efforts at the Emergency Operations Center in the state capitol. Their objective is to address impacts to health and the economy as well as communicate plans to the public.

Utah reached 806 confirmed COVID-19 cases Monday, after testing more than 16,000 people. The state health department has identified four deaths related to the virus. 

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert addressed Utahns on Monday, after announcing his “Stay Safe, Stay Home” directive Friday afternoon. The update included two additional state programs to help residents and business owners weather the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transient room tax, or TRT, revenue comes from lodging sales taxes, and state law heavily restricts its uses. Summit County Manager Tom Fisher estimates the county has $11 million in TRT funding this year. The Park City Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau receives 70% of that total to use for marketing Summit County, while the county government receives 30% for items like the county fair, the history department and other tourism-related projects proposed by the community. 

State political and economic leaders this week announced a plan to set the economy on a path for recovery as residents, business owners and employees weather the impacts of COVID-19. 

The plan is called Utah Leads Together. It’s an economic plan that also had input from health officials. Utah Gov. Gary Herbetrt says this is a uniquely challenging time.

Anna Lehnardt, a spokesperson from Gov. Gary Herbert’s office, says the governor was notified Wednesday afternoon of Summit County’s decision to issue a stay-at-home order in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

“Given the infection rate in that area of the state, we understand and support their decision to issue this order at this time,” Lenhardt said.