SALT LAKE CITY — With new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Utah, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, state health officials are turning to business owners to reduce the risk of spread.

So far, two cases have been diagnosed in Utah and both are related to recent travel. As of Tuesday, there were no cases of community spread in the Beehive State.

At an information session on Tuesday, state officials met with business owners and urged them to implement business practices that can help limit the potential spread of the disease in Utah, while still maintaining the state’s economy — practices like creating flexible time-off policies and working with employees to work remotely. Officials want to make sure employees are incentivized to self-isolate, if the time comes.

As of now there is no state funding to give individuals who need to miss work and don’t have paid time off, Lt. Gov Spencer Cox said.

Cox said he understands it’s difficult for businesses to change employee benefits, but he encouraged business owners to do everything they can to allow paid time off.

“We also need to focus on the health of businesses and try and maintain business as usual as long as we can, or close to it, so that once COVID-19 is all over, people still have that sense of security that the economy is fine, their job is fine and we can get back to life as much as we can,” Utah Department of Health state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn said.

The good news, Cox said Tuesday, is there’s time to prepare before community spread could potentially start.

“We don’t need to panic, we just need to be prepared,” said Val Hale, executive director of the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development.

Officials are asking, not ordering, those who are infected to self-isolate in their homes for two weeks.

“In general, good hygiene is going to be the way that this is prevented,” Dunn said.

In an effort to not overwhelm health care facilities, officials are asking those who believe they might be sick with COVID-19 to first call their doctors before heading to the hospital.

Additionally, workplaces should not require a doctor’s note for self-isolation or to return to work, as this could further overwhelm health care facilities.

“You guys are part of the solution,” Dunn told Utah business owners. “You are definitely needed in order to make sure that we don’t spread (COVID-19) throughout our community.”

If community transmission begins in the state, Utahns should be prepared to see their lives impacted by closures and cancellations of large events.

“As we get more cases in Utah and when we see community transmission, if we start seeing pockets we will definitely start looking at mass gathering cancellations and making recommendations for events that bring a bunch of people together to not be held,” Dunn said.

Cox said officials have discussed potential impacts the novel coronavirus could have on the upcoming April general conference held by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He was told that church leaders would be meeting to further discuss the situation.

While a decision about any changes to the conference has not been made, Cox said to “stay tuned" about any possible changes.

Related:

Utah's 2nd case of COVID-19 confirmed by Weber-Morgan health officials

Utah has its second case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, authorities said Tuesday. The female patient lives in the Weber-Morgan health district and is older than 60, according to the Utah Department of Health.

Similarly, schools could be shut down if there is a concentrated amount of cases in an area.

Cox said officials are in the process of finalizing what school closures could look like.

“This is not like snow days,” he said. “This has life-and-death consequences potentially.”

Cox said officials want to put firm guidelines in place to stay consistent and unified in schools across the state.

While children don’t appear to be impacted as seriously by COVID-19, Dunn noted that kids can spread disease quickly and easily.

In the event schools close, employers should realize some employees will need to stay home to care for children.

The epidemic is not at its peak yet, Dunn said.

“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” she said.

Those older than 60 with underlying health conditions are the most at-risk population, Dunn said.

“It’s not that scary for the general population; it is really scary for those over 60 with underlying medical conditions,” Dunn explained. “There’s about a 15 to 18% mortality rate in that population — that’s huge.”

For those outside of that demographic, the mortality rate is about 1.5 to 2%, Dunn continued.

“That’s still huge, that is potentially 20,000 deaths in Utah,” she added. “But 80% of us will recover just fine, but we don’t want to be spreading that to the most vulnerable and cause those deaths.”

“So if you’re sick, stay home,” she reiterated.

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