SLC Staying In Orange Phase As Other Areas Request Move To Yellow
May 28, 2020, 7:44 PM | Updated: 8:23 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah’s capital city still isn’t ready to move into the yellow or low-risk phase, even as most of the state moved to yellow weeks ago, according to Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
“After consulting with the county health department we’ve requested to keep Salt Lake City in the orange phase because our data is not showing a significant enough change since May 1 to warrant a shift to yellow,” Mendenhall said in a statement.
The statement added the city will continue to work closely with the county and state health departments to evaluate its status during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most of Utah moved to the yellow phase of the state’s Utah Leads Together plan on May 16. However, along with Salt Lake City, nearby Magna and West Valley City stayed in orange.
The remote southeast Utah communities of Bluff, Mexican Hat and all of Grand County also remained in the moderate-risk classification at that time.
Governor Gary Herbert’s office said Thursday evening that the state health department is reviewing requests from Grand County, Magna and West Valley City to move from the orange to yellow phase.
“Based on the data and trends, we are inclined to accept those requests and an order could be issued as early as tomorrow,” the statement said.
Also on Thursday, the governor hinted at the possibility of most of Utah moving to the green phase — or what’s called the “new normal.”
“I think many parts of the state are getting to a point where they can start thinking about moving from yellow to green,” Herbert said. “That may not happen for a couple of weeks — maybe longer — but the data will inform us on whether we can do that or not.”
Herbert said the decisions of when to move to the next phase were a balancing act of trying to reopen the economy while keeping the spread of the virus under control. He thanked the residents of Utah for obeying health guidelines.
“Our ability to open this up and get back to a kind-of new normal is really based on individual compliance and what we’re willing to do and do our part to make sure we stay safe and keep those around us safe,” Herbert said.
