State leaders: Be prepared, but don't panic about virus

By Brice Wallace 

While Utah had only three confirmed cases of coronavirus as of the middle of last week, a group of prominent government and business officials were encouraging individuals and businesses to be prepared because that number likely will grow.

“The key is … we don’t need to panic,” Val Hale, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), said last week during an informational session involving GOED{mprestriction ids="1,3"}, the Utah Department of Health, the Salt Lake Chamber, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah and World Trade Center Utah. “We just need to be prepared, we just need to address this and take every precaution we can and then meet it head-on if, in fact, someone around us does get it [then] let’s work to try to prevent that from spreading even further.”

The virus, COVID-19, began in China and has spread to several continents. Utah remains a low-risk state. Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, the leader of the state response team, said officials are not yet encouraging Utahns to “make huge disruptions to their life.”

“It is something we are taking very seriously, and we encourage the citizens of the state of Utah to take very seriously. … We are being extremely cautious,” Cox said. “What we’re hoping to do is prevent the spread of this virus. All of that being said, too, we don’t want to induce panic. If people practice appropriate hygiene, if they respond to the recommendations that we have given and will continue to give, life will go on and we’ll be able to weather this storm.”

A task force led by Cox and Dr. Angela Dunn, state epidemiologist from the Utah Department of Health, will continue to make recommendations to Gov. Gary Herbert and other state leaders. One reason for the recommendations is to ensure healthcare facilities in Utah do not become overwhelmed with patients.

“It’s the scientists that are making the decisions and the recommendations, not the politicians,” Cox said. “But we are leaning very heavily on them and learning from them and working closely together with those decisions and recommendations.”

Dunn noted that while the number of coronavirus cases in China was shrinking, it was growing elsewhere. “And that’s just showing that we’re still kind of on the tip of the iceberg with this epidemic,” she said.

“This is really going to take a community to stop this spread of COVID-19. It’s not just going to be done in public health, it’s not just going to be the government, but it’s really going to be all of us putting forth these measures in order to make sure that our communities stay safe. … You guys are part of the solution. You’re definitely needed in order to make sure that we don’t spread COVID throughout our community.”

The virus is “not that scary” for the general population but “really scary” for people over age 60 with underlying medical conditions, she said. Based on mortality rates seen so far, the virus has the potential for 20,000 deaths in Utah, “but 80 percent of us will recover just fine, but we don’t want to be spreading that to the most vulnerable and cause those deaths,” she said.

Recommendations for companies and individuals can be found at slchamber.com and coronavirus.utah.gov. Updates also will be available on social media. Cox also encouraged the public to pay attention to trusted sources of information and “not the crazy uncle on Facebook.”

Many of the recommendations are straightforward and related to hygiene. People with symptoms should stay home, with telecommuting and videoconferencing being options. High-touch surfaces — at work, they include door knobs, keyboards and telephones — should be cleaned with routine cleaning supplies twice a day. Work shifts could be staggered. Companies with occupational health clinics should figure out how to triage people with symptoms. Work-related travel, especially to affected areas of the world, should be canceled. People should stop shaking hands.

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

Cox said state officials are encouraging every organization to work on a plan and discuss contingencies if employees contract the disease, or if their family members do, or if their children’s schools are closed.

“We have time to prepare — that’s the good news,” Cox said, contrasting it with an earthquake and subsequent “in the moment” decisions. “Now we can see something coming, and we have an opportunity to be well-prepared for that.”

But officials also stressed other steps companies can take that might not be so obvious. They include evaluating sick-leave policies, protecting the privacy of affected employees to “minimize that rumor mill” at work, and cross-training employees if absenteeism becomes an issue.

Cox encouraged companies, if they can, to “be more lenient with your time off and with the potential for paid time off.”

“In trying to save a few dollars by not giving paid time off,” he said, “you may end up inadvertently infecting everyone in your building or in your office, and the repercussions financially could be far worse for that.”

Dunn said requiring employees to have a medical note in order to work from home is a barrier that should be removed because it could overwhelm the healthcare system. “Let’s try to be a little more flexible during a pandemic in terms of trusting our employees if they’re staying home with symptoms that may not require an elevated level of medical attention,” she said.

Hale said employees often feel guilty when they get a cough, so they try to “plow through this” by going to work and hoping to be fine. “Well, we don’t need that now,” Hale said. “And make sure that they understand that it’s not a big deal if they stay home.”

Miles Hansen, president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah, said the virus has impacted global trade, primarily through international travel, a rapid increase in uncertainty and disruptions to supply chains. “We are all part of a supply chain, whether we’re at the company side or whether or not we’re the end user as a consumer,” he said.

Hansen encouraged companies to research what they should be doing, make an assessment about their activities and then “make a prudent decision.” If business travel is necessary, “if there’s not heightened concern or heightened risk, then we’re encouraging companies to move full steam ahead,” he said.

Cox ended the session with optimism.

“We live in an awesome state. No one should be more optimistic than the residents of Utah,” he said, noting that the state has a culture of preparedness and working together. “This is what we do best, is weather storms like this, and we’re going to weather this one.{/mprestriction}