Thursday morning, April 9, 2020
Northern Utah
Summit County’s Stay-At-Home Order
Summit County issued their stay-at-home order a little more than two weeks ago, and Salt Lake County issued it’s order a few days later. Law enforcement, however, has not issued any citations. Lt. Andrew Wright with the Summit County Sheriff's Office says while they have only given out a handful of educational warnings, they are recording them in their system. Salt Lake City is also taking an educational route and has also issued a few warnings. — Jessica Lowell
Southern Utah
Weekend Order On Navajo Nation
A 57-hour stay-at-home order will be in effect on the Navajo Nation this weekend to slow the spread of COVID-19. The curfew, which comes as hospitals on the reservation are beginning to run out of space, will be enforced by the Navajo Nation police and applies to everyone except essential workers. Read the full story. — Kate Groetzinger, Bluff
Follow KUER’s coverage of the coronavirus in Utah.
Kane County Public Lands Limits
With limited exceptions, public lands in Kane County are closed to all but its residents and those in neighboring Fredonia, Arizona. The County Commission approved the ordinance Wednesday after three cases of COVID-19 turned up there. Officials believe they're all travel-related. Non-county residents holding permits issued before April 8 for Coyote Buttes North and South and for the Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness area may use those but must follow state coronavirus guidelines such as social distancing. — Diane Maggipinto
BASE Jumper Banned From Zion
The professional BASE jumper Marshall Miller of Alpine has been banned from Zion National Park after admitting he jumped twice from cliffs there, against park service rules. Miller vowed not to leap again from cliffs inside any national park, following his guilty plea to the infractions inside Zion. Officials say Miller made a wingsuit jump from off the Great White Throne, which has been closed to visitors to avoid disturbances to an area used by nesting peregrine falcons Two people have died since 2013 while BASE jumping in Zion National Park. — Associated Press
Region
Pollution And Coronavirus
A new study has found that long-term air pollution increases COVID-19 mortality rates. The Harvard researchers behind it say side effects of that pollution cause conditions that make COVID more deadly. And while pollution already increases mortality rates, they say it’s 20 times worse for COVID patients. The study only focused on long-term exposure to consistently high air pollution, though. So it’s hard to say exactly what this means for the Mountain West, where air pollution tends to be seasonal. — Madelyn Beck, Mountain West News Bureau