Coronavirus updates: Bountiful's Handcart Days Parade canceled due to COVID-19

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SALT LAKE CITY— Here are the latest coronavirus-related updates from Utah and around the world.

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Wednesday, 09:18pm

Bountiful's Handcart Days Parade canceled due to COVID-19

Bountiful’s Handcart Days Parade and activities have been canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the city announced Wednesday. The event was initially scheduled for July 17-18 but was canceled because of social distancing restrictions that don’t allow preparations to be made, such as float building and band practices.

Due to the unprecedented circumstances surrounding COVID-19, the Handcart Days Board of Directors, with input from Bountiful City management, has made the difficult decision to cancel the Handcart Days parade and activities for 2020. See more info here: https://t.co/tu0p0clo7N pic.twitter.com/MemDCLZ1Gz

— Bountiful City (@BountifulCityUT) April 16, 2020 If state and county orders are lifted by July 17, the city hopes to hold a concert that night and have a fireworks display the following night. — Lauren Bennett, KSL.com

Wednesday, 07:33pm

Southeast Utah Health Department extends public health order through May 4 with amendments

The Southeast Utah Health Department has extended its public order though May 4, the agency announced on Wednesday. The order was also amended to allow residents to order from inside of restaurants, matching the state’s order regarding food establishments.  Additionally, certain businesses that do not generally attract tourists, such as beauty salons and gyms, were given the chance to submit a COVID-19 mitigation plan starting Thursday. If the plan is approved, those businesses will be allowed to remain open if they adhere to the mitigation plan. Six confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the district and three have recovered, according to the health department. An estimated 456 tests have been administered for the southeast region. — Lauren Bennett, KSL.com

Wednesday, 07:12pm

COVID-19 vaccine could be completed mid-winter as competition heats up

Three potential COVID-19 vaccines are making fast progress in early-stage testing in volunteers in China and the U.S., but it’s still a long road to prove if they'll really work. China’s CanSino Biologics has begun the second phase of testing its vaccine candidate, China's Ministry of Science and Technology said Tuesday. In the U.S., a shot made by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc. isn’t far behind. The first person to receive that experimental vaccine last month returned to a Seattle clinic Tuesday for a second dose. — Associated Press

Wednesday, 07:08pm

Utah is flattening the COVID-19 curve, economy may reopen sooner than expected, Lt. Gov. says

Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox is optimistic that the state’s economy may reopen sooner than officials previously estimated. But, he acknowledged that Utah leaders must be careful not to act too quickly in the face of an unprecedented global pandemic that no one completely understands yet. "I’m not sure we fully understand the depth and breadth of what this virus has unleashed. There is real pain: physical, psychological, emotional, economic," Cox wrote in a Twitter thread Wednesday morning. "But there is nowhere in the world I would rather be than here. With you. … We always respond selflessly and with unity in spirit and purpose." — Jacob Klopfenstein, KSL.com

Wednesday, 07:07pm

'Our Dunkirk moment': Utah tech companies help facilitate big delivery of PPEs

Standing in a hangar at the Salt Lake City International Airport, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox made a grand comparison. “This truly is our Dunkirk moment,” Cox said, referring to the time when hundreds of civilian boats were used to evacuate British soldiers during World War II. On Wednesday, a plane landed at the airport carrying 8 million items of personal protective equipment (PPE), including gowns, masks, face shields and hand-sanitizing wipes. — Ryan Miller, KSL.com

Wednesday, 07:06pm

6 new data points help paint clearer picture of how COVID-19 is affecting Utah

It’s been more than a month since Utah’s COVID-19 cases began to rise. In that space of time, we’ve all had to adjust to limitations and closures around the state and memorize the concept of social distancing. There’s also been a lot of new information gathered about COVID-19 since the disease reached the state. Because it’s a novel virus, researchers around the world have had to race to figure out how it spreads, how it affects people and how to stop it. Over the past week, state and local health departments have released more detailed information about COVID-19 in the state and in the county most affected by the disease. — Carter Williams, KSL.com

Wednesday, 07:05pm

US relief checks begin arriving as economic damage piles up

Government relief checks began arriving in Americans’ bank accounts as the economic damage to the U.S. from the coronavirus piled up Wednesday and sluggish sales at reopened stores in Europe and China made it clear that business won’t necessarily bounce right back when the crisis eases. With many factories shut down, American industrial output shriveled in March, registering its biggest decline since the U.S. demobilized in 1946 at the end of World War II. Retail sales fell by an unprecedented 8.7%, with April expected to be far worse. — Associated Press

Wednesday, 07:03pm

Utah schools, colleges to receive over $200M in federal COVID-19 education relief funding

Utah public schools as well as public and private colleges will receive more than $200 million in COVID-19 relief funding under the CARES Act recently passed by Congress. Utah public schools will receive $67.8 million, with at least 90% to be granted to school districts and charter schools for a broad array of purposes. Those could include summer education programs for at-risk students, the purchase of educational technology or training employees how prevent the spread of infectious disease. “We anticipate the U.S. Department of Education will have a grant process available next week. With that in place, we will work with Utah’s school districts and charter schools to fill out those grant requests,” said Mark Peterson, spokesman for the Utah State Board of Education. — Marjorie Cortez, KSL

Wednesday, 01:38pm

Health department reveals 20th Utah death from COVID-19, 130 new cases

Wednesday's numbers from the Utah Department of Health reveal 130 new cases of COVID-19 and one new death, bringing the state's total to 20 virus deaths. The state now sits at 2,542 total confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. Previously, there were 2,412 cases in the state. The new numbers indicate a 5.4% increase in positive cases since Tuesday. Of the 47,614 people tested in Utah so far, 5.2% have tested positive for COVID-19. Read the full story here. — Graham Dudley, KSL.com

Wednesday, 01:16pm

Dept. of Commerce unveils new site to fight virus fraud

The Utah Department of Commerce announced Wednesday it has created a new website dedicated to combating coronavirus-related scams and schemes. "With economic relief payments, expanded unemployment benefits, loan programs, and other COVID-19-related initiatives, the Utah Department of Commerce is warning consumers to continue to be on the lookout for scams related to COVID-19, including stimulus and other government programs," the department said in a news release. The Utah Fraud Squad website contains general information about different types of scams, as well as additional resources for more information or to report claims. — Graham Dudley, KSL.com

Wednesday, 10:30am

Lt. Gov. Cox says Utah economy could open 'much sooner than expected'

In a Twitter thread posted Wednesday morning, Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox shared his thoughts on the state's recent COVID-19 numbers, testing, school closures and more. Cox called the latest numbers "VERY encouraging" and said they could lead to a partially reopened economy "much sooner than many expected." That said, Cox said it's "concerning" that testing recently has "significantly declined" despite a ramp-up in capacity. "The only way out of this is to get more people tested, especially with mild symptoms, so we can understand where the disease is" and prevent its spread, he wrote.

[Thread] 1/Just a few thoughts on where we are headed... the latest numbers are all VERY encouraging (w one possible exception) and it means there is a real chance of opening parts of the economy much sooner than many expected!

[Thread] 1/Just a few thoughts on where we are headed... the latest numbers are all VERY encouraging (w one possible exception) and it means there is a real chance of opening parts of the economy much sooner than many expected!
— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) April 15, 2020

— Graham Dudley, KSL.com

Wednesday, 09:56am

Tour de France rescheduled

The Tour de France has new dates, and it will be followed by cycling’s two other major races. Because of restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, the iconic race around France will now start on Aug. 29 and finish on Sept. 20. The Giro d’Italia and the Spanish Vuelta, cycling’s two other Grand Tours, will take place after the French race. The International Cycling Union announced the Tour’s new dates on Wednesday after consulting with race organizer Amaury Sport Organisation. The race was originally scheduled to start on June 27 in Nice. It’s the first time since the end of World War II that the race is not starting in July. — Associated Press

Wednesday, 08:30am

State pushing for more Utahns to get tested for COVID-19

State health officials continued their plea for people with mild symptoms of the novel coronavirus to be tested as the rate of confirmed cases and the number of tests administered decreases. “We don’t know if the prevalence is indeed decreasing,” said Dr. Richard Orlandi, chief medical officer at Ambulatory Health at the University of Utah. “The decrease in testing has been a bit of a head-scratcher.” From the beginning health officials in the state and across the country have identified fever, cough and shortness of breath as the symptoms most associated with COVID-19. In the early stages of its spread in Utah, state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn told Utahns to largely stay home if they exhibited those symptoms due to a lack of testing capabilities. “Our testing capacity increased drastically, so we changed our message,” Dunn said in Tuesday’s daily COVID-19 press conference. Dunn also announced the state had tested more than 46,476 people — just 689 more than Monday. That’s well below the state’s ability to test thousands a day. Read the full story here. — Matt Rascon, KSL TV

Wednesday, 07:04am

States confront practical dilemmas on reopening economies

Governors around the U.S. have started sketching out plans to reopen their economies in a slow and methodical process so as to prevent the coronavirus from rebounding with tragic consequences. In Italy, Spain and other places around Europe where infections and deaths have begun stabilizing, the process is already underway, with certain businesses and industries allowed to start back up in a calibrated effort by politicians to balance public health against their countries' economic well-being. While the crisis is far from over in the U.S., with more than 25,000 dead and approximately 600,000 confirmed infections by Johns Hopkins University's count, the doomsday scenarios that were predicted just two weeks ago have not come to pass, raising hopes from coast to coast. — Associated Press

Tuesday, 10:44pm

ICYMI: Catch up on coronavirus developments from yesterday

Utah’s number of COVID-19 cases increased by 49 on Tuesday, with one new reported death, according to the Utah Department of Health.

Intermountain Healthcare officials said as new patients with COVID-19 arrive every day, their hospitals are ready for a possible surge in virus cases.

Utah’s public and charter schools will finish the school year through remote learning.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced humanitarian efforts in 57 countries to battle the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Read all of yesterday's coronavirus news here.

Coronavirus updates: Bountiful's Handcart Days Parade canceled due to COVID-19

By KSL Staff | Updated - April 15, 2020 at 9:57 p.m. | Posted - April 15, 2020 at 7:04 a.m.

(Scott G Winterton, KSL, File)

Bountiful's Handcart Days Parade canceled due to COVID-19

Southeast Utah Health Department extends public health order through May 4 with amendments

COVID-19 vaccine could be completed mid-winter as competition heats up

Utah is flattening the COVID-19 curve, economy may reopen sooner than expected, Lt. Gov. says

'Our Dunkirk moment': Utah tech companies help facilitate big delivery of PPEs

6 new data points help paint clearer picture of how COVID-19 is affecting Utah

US relief checks begin arriving as economic damage piles up

Utah schools, colleges to receive over $200M in federal COVID-19 education relief funding

Health department reveals 20th Utah death from COVID-19, 130 new cases

Dept. of Commerce unveils new site to fight virus fraud

Lt. Gov. Cox says Utah economy could open 'much sooner than expected'

Tour de France rescheduled

State pushing for more Utahns to get tested for COVID-19

States confront practical dilemmas on reopening economies

ICYMI: Catch up on coronavirus developments from yesterday

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Coronavirus updates: Bountiful's Handcart Days Parade canceled due to COVID-19

By KSL Staff | Updated - April 15, 2020 at 9:57 p.m. | Posted - April 15, 2020 at 7:04 a.m.

(Scott G Winterton, KSL, File)

Bountiful's Handcart Days Parade canceled due to COVID-19

Southeast Utah Health Department extends public health order through May 4 with amendments

COVID-19 vaccine could be completed mid-winter as competition heats up

Utah is flattening the COVID-19 curve, economy may reopen sooner than expected, Lt. Gov. says

'Our Dunkirk moment': Utah tech companies help facilitate big delivery of PPEs

6 new data points help paint clearer picture of how COVID-19 is affecting Utah

US relief checks begin arriving as economic damage piles up

Utah schools, colleges to receive over $200M in federal COVID-19 education relief funding

Health department reveals 20th Utah death from COVID-19, 130 new cases

Dept. of Commerce unveils new site to fight virus fraud

Lt. Gov. Cox says Utah economy could open 'much sooner than expected'

Tour de France rescheduled

State pushing for more Utahns to get tested for COVID-19

States confront practical dilemmas on reopening economies

ICYMI: Catch up on coronavirus developments from yesterday

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KSL.com coronavirus coverage

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