Utah Resort Scales Back After COVID-19 Scare
Aug 19, 2020, 9:19 PM | Updated: Aug 25, 2020, 4:04 pm
GARDEN CITY, Utah – Part of Ideal Beach Resort at Bear Lake was forced to shut down after some employees came in contact with a person who later tested positive for COVID-19.
The resort’s condos are run by two companies. One completely shut down their 42 units for two weeks, while the other kept their 150 units open with limited services. None of their employees have tested positive.
Managers said they wanted to take the extra steps to keep business at Bear Lake running.
Tough decisions were made, and 22 reservations were canceled Tuesday.
Ideal Beach Resort at Bear Lake
“We shut the store down, and housekeeping down, which made it so guests couldn’t check-in,” Moulton said.
General manager Steve Moulton said they did this after hearing from an offsite vendor.
“He had two employees tested that were positive with COVID, and so out of an abundance of caution, my employees that were in contact with his employees, I sent down to Evanston and Logan,” he said.
Those seven employees are now at home, waiting for results. In the meantime, visitors won’t be able to come inside the main office or their store. But at both places, he said they take extra care to keep people distanced and put plexiglass barriers in for their employees.
Ideal Beach Resort at Bear Lake general manager Steve Moulton.
“We’ve had the busiest season in the history of the resort,” he said. “It’s just been overwhelming, and it’s amazing that it’s actually taken this long before something happened.”
More people, and more reasons to take extra care. Four additional employees were hired this season to disinfect areas around the resort.
Connie Irwin and her husband keep groups separated at mini-golf, disinfecting equipment between rounds. Numbers have remained low in Rich County — only 11 cases so far — and they want it to stay that way.
“We don’t want it,” Irwin said. “Let us get through the summer.”
Connie Irwin
At their pools, only one family group is allowed in at a time. Moulton said the policy is not popular with guests, but it has to be done.
“I also have a special needs daughter at home, so I don’t want to go home with the coronavirus on the weekend,” Moulton said.
Moulton said even though he didn’t come in contact with those vendor employees who tested positive, he got tested as well, just in case.
They expect to get results for their employees either Wednesday or Thursday.
