Our Governor recently downgraded our risk level to Low, allowing for more activity. The only exemption is Salt Lake
City, which is still at Medium. Here's a helpful graphic. This is a simplified view of the Salt Lake
Valley (geologically) looking northward.
The developed area is, politically, Salt Lake
County. My house is pretty much where the little red star is, but I have business interests, offices, and locations in that whole developed area (as well as outside the picture to the north and south). As you can see, it's a heavily populated
county, with lots of commerce throughout. The
city is just the cluster of buildings near the red star. And that's the only place the Governor has allowed to remain at a higher level of quarantining and protection. The Mayor of Salt Lake
County requested exemption, but the Governor denied her. There are places in the "county" that are almost as densely occupied on any given day as the downtown area. And people come in and out of the
city on a daily basis. Now all those people in the
county who are more likely to communicate infection amongst themselves due to relaxed restrictions, are more likely to bring it into the
city.
I can understand the logic behind not having a statewide order. There are parts of Utah were you could literally set off a nuclear bomb and no one would notice. But the difference in policy between the
cities and the
counties of our most populous areas simply makes no sense. If the leader of a populous
county says, "No, we would like to continue taking precautions," and your Governor says, "No, we're not going to let you do that," you wonder what the Governor is thinking. He is not running for re-election. His Lt. Governor, a closeted Trump toady, is running for that party. And I'm friends with the Democratic candidate and his lovely wife. He admires me for my cocktail-making skills, so maybe I can score a political appointment as Secretary of Alcoholic Beverage Control. (Yes, in Utah that's a cabinet-level position.)
Gillianren, I'm relieved that your friend tested negative. So far only two of my friends have had COVID-19, and they contracted it in New York. Luckily they are young and very fit (professional ballet dancers) so they recovered without requiring hospitalization. Sadly one of our business patriarchs was not so lucky. I didn't know him personally, except maybe for a handshake at one point. But he was well respected and beloved. He was in the category of age and health that made him particularly susceptible. Two years ago I had one of the milder viral xARS illnesses. It was the sickest I can remember ever being, including pneumonia. I have absolutely no desire to endure COVID-19.
