Coronavirus updates: State relaxing pandemic restrictions further; Supercross returning to Rice-Eccles

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

If you're on a mobile device and can't see the updates below, click on this link.

Thursday, 08:21pm

State denies Salt Lake County request to remain entirely at 'orange' risk level

At a news conference late Thursday morning, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert announced that most of the state will move from the "orange," moderate-risk phase it entered two weeks ago to the "yellow," low-risk phase. But there will be exceptions. Grand, Summit and Wasatch counties will remain entirely at orange, as will Salt Lake City and West Valley City. Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said in a statement Thursday the county had applied to the state to remain at moderate risk, but was denied. — Graham Dudley, KSL.com

Thursday, 08:17pm

Need a mask? 1.25M free masks expected to be produced for Utahns by end of May

About 500,000 masks are expected to be out for delivery to Utah residents by the start of next week and more than 1 million by the end of the month as local businesses that shifted to making the face coverings for the state’s "Mask For Every Utahn" campaign crank out the protective items. Todd Bingham, president and CEO of the Utah Manufacturers Association, said an estimated 150,000 to 160,000 masks have already been delivered, as of Wednesday evening. The roughly two dozen businesses helping out with the campaign are continuing to produce new masks each day, he said. — Carter Williams, KSL.com

Thursday, 04:52pm

Supercross to televise motor sports' return from Rice-Eccles Stadium

Live sports are coming back to Salt Lake City. Feld Entertainment and the Monster Energy AMA Supercross announced the resumption of races beginning Sunday, May 31, at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The event, which runs weekly through June 21 and will be held without fans, will be the first sporting event at Rice-Eccles Stadium since leagues closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first hour of the event, from 1-2 p.m. MDT, will air on NBC Sports Network, then move to NBC from 2-4 p.m. MDT in the first of seven races that will determine an FIM world champion. “We are excited to continue our work with Feld Entertainment, Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah, and the Utah Department of Health Services,” said Jeff Robbins, president and CEO of the Utah Sports Commission. “Their continued support along with Utah’s Gov. Gary Herbert have made it possible for Supercross’ return to Utah. “We also look forward to showcasing Utah worldwide via Supercross’ global footprint.” The race will bring 40 riders each in three classes — 450SX and East and West regionals in the 250SX class — to vie for the ultimate prize. Riders will race “solo against other competitors” and wear several layers of protective gear, including full-face helmets, goggles, gloves, long-sleeved jerseys and knee-high boots, according to the organization. — Sean Walker, KSL.com

Thursday, 03:24pm

Most of Utah to move to yellow, low-risk level for COVID-19 Saturday, governor says

Most of Utah will transition to the yellow, low-risk level for COVID-19 starting Saturday, Gov. Gary Herbert announced Thursday. Grand, Summit and Wasatch counties, as well as Salt Lake City and West Valley City, will remain in the orange, moderate-risk level, Herbert said. The rest of the state will transition to low risk at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. “I like the trend, I like the numbers, I like what’s taking place," Herbert said. — Jacob Klopfenstein, KSL.com

Thursday, 03:24pm

How long before we know if reopenings cause virus spikes?

U.S. states and countries worldwide are cautiously relaxing restrictions while watching for potential spikes in coronavirus infections. Getting the timing right is complicated. Disease trackers note the impossibility of seeing clearly what’s happening without widespread testing. Here's a look at when we might start to see any health impacts of reopening. — Associated Press

Thursday, 03:24pm

Virus whistleblower tells lawmakers US lacks vaccine plan

Whistleblower Rick Bright warned on Thursday that the U.S. lacks a plan to produce and fairly distribute a coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available. The nation could face “the darkest winter in modern history” unless leaders act decisively, he told a congressional panel. Bright alleges he was ousted from a high-level scientific post after warning the Trump administration to prepare for the pandemic. Bright said, “We don’t have (a vaccine plan) yet, and it is a significant concern.” Asked if lawmakers should be worried, he responded, “absolutely.” — Associated Press

Thursday, 03:24pm

Tyson Foods will reduce prices on some beef products this week, as grocery store prices soar

Tyson Foods will be discounting prices on certain products for the remainder of this week. The price reductions will vary, but Tyson told CNN some beef items sold to grocery stores, restaurants and other customers could be discounted by 20% to 30% through Saturday. "We're doing this because we want to help keep beef on family tables across our nation, especially as our beef plants return from reduced levels of production," said Gary Mickelson, the company's senior director of public relations. — CNN

Thursday, 03:24pm

Groups call for extension of Utah’s moratorium on evictions

Several groups have called for an extension of Governor Gary Herbert’s executive order that put a moratorium on certain evictions related to not paying rent because of COVID-19, which was set to expire on Friday. It’s the middle of the month and for struggling tenants relying on the governor’s moratorium, it’s about time to pay up. “People were already struggling to pay rent before this crisis began,” said Bill Tibbitts, associate director at Crossroads Urban Center, which is one of more than 20 groups that signed a letter asking the governor to extend his moratorium order on evictions two more months until July 15. — Matt Rascon, KSL TV

Thursday, 03:24pm

U. mucus study seeks to answer critical COVID-19 questions

Scientists around the globe are trying to answer critical questions about how effectively the novel coronavirus spreads through the air or gets picked up from a surface, and a biomedical engineer at the University of Utah is using a special cabinet to look for those answers. Dr. Jessica Kramer, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the U., wants to find out how effectively different forms of mucus spread the virus. “(Mucus) covers basically every wet surface in the human body,” she said. — Jed Boal, KSL TV

Thursday, 11:04am

Utah sees 129 new cases of COVID-19

Utah’s number of COVID-19 cases has increased by 129 from Wednesday, with no new reported deaths, according to the Utah Department of Health. Thursday’s totals give Utah 6,749 total confirmed cases, with 558 total hospitalizations and 75 total deaths from the disease. Previously, there were 6,620 cases in the state. The new numbers indicate a 1.9% increase in positive cases since Wednesday. Of the 160,119 people tested in Utah so far, 4.2% tested positive for COVID-19. — Jacob Klopfenstein, KSL.com

Thursday, 08:07am

Utah's tourism industry losing $20 million per day

Even as Utah’s recreation destinations begin to reopen, there’s worry about what the future of travel looks like and if tourism-based companies can survive the sharp drop in visitors. Residents and business owners in Springdale, which sits at the entrance of world-famous Zion National Park, watched with anticipation as the park reopened to visitors on Wednesday. “There’s still some businesses closed down, even though we’re open today,” said Springdale Mayor Stan Smith. “So we don’t really know who’s going to come out of it and who’s not.” — Ladd Egan, KSL TV

Thursday, 07:41am

7K more Utahns file for unemployment benefits

The number of Utahns seeking unemployment benefits increased by 7,135 last week. The U.S. Department of Labor released numbers Thursday that show the increase. In the week of April 26, 9,057 people filed for unemployment benefits. — Jacob Klopfenstein, KSL.com

Thursday, 06:57am

36 million have sought US unemployment aid since virus hit

Nearly 3 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as the viral outbreak led more companies to slash jobs even though most states have begun to let some businesses reopen under certain restrictions. Roughly 36 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the two months since the coronavirus first forced millions of businesses to close their doors and shrink their workforces, the Labor Department said Thursday. — Associated Press

Thursday, 06:57am

Gephardt: Utahns face long wait times, frustration with unemployment office

Over 145,000 Utahns have filed for first-time jobless benefits since COVID-19 began wreaking havoc on the economy on March 15. The pace of new claims has eased in recent weeks, but it was so high that KSL has heard from many Utahns struggling to get help from Utah’s unemployment office because they couldn’t reach a real, live human being. Morgan Higbee was one of those Utahns who kept calling the Department of Workforce Service’s Unemployment Insurance division. She said time is running out. Read the entire article here. — Matt Gephardt and Sloan Schrage, KSL TV

Friday, 06:57am

ICYMI: Catch up on coronavirus developments from yesterday

The Utah Department of Health announced Wednesday that Utah has seen an additional 188 cases of COVID-19 and two deaths from the disease on Wednesday.

After Snowbird announced a similar pass protection program earlier Wednesday, Snowbasin also announced that it will guarantee a partial refund to passholders if the 2020/2021 season is disrupted due to mandated resort closures, stay-at-home orders, and even pregnancies or personal injuries.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Wednesday of the threat of a prolonged recession resulting from the viral outbreak and urged Congress and the White House to act further to prevent long-lasting economic damage.

America faces the “darkest winter in modern history” unless leaders act decisively to prevent a rebound of the coronavirus, says a government whistleblower who alleges he was ousted from his job for warning the Trump administration to prepare for the pandemic.

Read all of yesterday's coronavirus coverage here.

Coronavirus updates: State relaxing pandemic restrictions further; Supercross returning to Rice-Eccles

By KSL Staff | Updated - May 14, 2020 at 8:24 p.m. | Posted - May 14, 2020 at 7:04 a.m.

(Shutterstock)

State denies Salt Lake County request to remain entirely at 'orange' risk level

Need a mask? 1.25M free masks expected to be produced for Utahns by end of May

Supercross to televise motor sports' return from Rice-Eccles Stadium

Most of Utah to move to yellow, low-risk level for COVID-19 Saturday, governor says

How long before we know if reopenings cause virus spikes?

Virus whistleblower tells lawmakers US lacks vaccine plan

Tyson Foods will reduce prices on some beef products this week, as grocery store prices soar

Groups call for extension of Utah’s moratorium on evictions

U. mucus study seeks to answer critical COVID-19 questions

Utah sees 129 new cases of COVID-19

Utah's tourism industry losing $20 million per day

7K more Utahns file for unemployment benefits

36 million have sought US unemployment aid since virus hit

Gephardt: Utahns face long wait times, frustration with unemployment office

ICYMI: Catch up on coronavirus developments from yesterday

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Coronavirus updates: State relaxing pandemic restrictions further; Supercross returning to Rice-Eccles

By KSL Staff | Updated - May 14, 2020 at 8:24 p.m. | Posted - May 14, 2020 at 7:04 a.m.

(Shutterstock)

State denies Salt Lake County request to remain entirely at 'orange' risk level

Need a mask? 1.25M free masks expected to be produced for Utahns by end of May

Supercross to televise motor sports' return from Rice-Eccles Stadium

Most of Utah to move to yellow, low-risk level for COVID-19 Saturday, governor says

How long before we know if reopenings cause virus spikes?

Virus whistleblower tells lawmakers US lacks vaccine plan

Tyson Foods will reduce prices on some beef products this week, as grocery store prices soar

Groups call for extension of Utah’s moratorium on evictions

U. mucus study seeks to answer critical COVID-19 questions

Utah sees 129 new cases of COVID-19

Utah's tourism industry losing $20 million per day

7K more Utahns file for unemployment benefits

36 million have sought US unemployment aid since virus hit

Gephardt: Utahns face long wait times, frustration with unemployment office

ICYMI: Catch up on coronavirus developments from yesterday

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KSL.com coronavirus coverage

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