Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall answered questions during an AMA on Facebook regarding when businesses will reopen. (Photo: Kelli Pierce)
SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake City mayor Erin Mendenhall talks COVID-19 and how the city is handling it during an online Q&A with the Emerging Leaders Initiative of Utah.
Many asked the mayor what it would take to reopen up the economy. It’s a question she’s been asked a lot over the past few weeks.
Mendenhall indicated it would all be based on the numbers.
“[When] we see a transmission rate of less than one to one in the city for at least two weeks. That’s a benchmark we are going to be watching for. Consistent levels of widespread testing and contact tracing ability, and then that decrease in the number of cases that have no known source of exposure because that’s one of the data points that tell us what kind of community spread is happening,” Mendenhall said.
The mayor said that’s similar to the benchmarks the state of Utah has.
While Mendenhall supports Salt Lake County’s Stay at Home order, COVID-19 restrictions may be in place a lot longer in the city.
This is because Salt Lake City currently has the highest COVID-19 transmission rates in the state, with some downtown and west side neighborhoods especially hard hit.
“Salt Lake City isn’t the same as Riverton, and a county-wide declaration may not fit us and our residents…This is absolutely not a time for us to loosen our restrictions,” Mendenhall said.
She also said she doesn’t know of anyone who has been cited for violating the county’s order.
Mendenhall said the goal of the city and law enforcement is to educate, not punish people. However, it can be tough for officers to cite people gathered in large groups.
“When we confront them, they’re likely to say, and have said on many occasions, ‘This is my family. I live with these people.’ It becomes very difficult to say, ‘No, you don’t’ or ‘Prove it,'” Mendenhall said.
The Q&A was not all serious topics. Mendenhall reflected on her accomplishments over the past 100 days, including setting up a temporary homeless shelter and getting concessions on the Inland Port project.
She is also open to the idea of closing off some streets in Salt Lake City, even after the pandemic is over, to give people more options to walk around.
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How To Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 Coronavirus
COVID-19 coronavirus is transmitted from person to person. It is a virus that is similar to the common cold and the flu. So, to prevent it from spreading:
Resources for more information:
LOCAL:
State of Utah: https://coronavirus.utah.gov/
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Utah Coronavirus Information Line – 1-800-456-7707
National Links
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Commonly asked questions, World Health Organization