19 Mar COVID-19 UPDATE
Neighbors,
I know you are as concerned as I am about the health and safety of everyone in our city as we face the COVID-19 pandemic.
I have taken the step of issuing a declaration of a state of emergency to ensure we have access to every resource and many capabilities we will need.
The health of our community is our first priority. This means practicing social distancing and, at the recommendation of the Center for Disease Control, limiting your interactions to groups of 10 or fewer.
As you may know the county declared a public health emergency that limits business operations. At restaurants, dine-in operations are prohibited; takeout, curbside, pickup, drive-thru, delivery (including by third-party services), and mobile food (trucks/carts) are allowed with some modifications. Grocery stores and cafeterias will eliminate seating areas as well as any other opportunity to congregate.
We have to draw a clear line, as hard as it may be, because the stakes are so high.
My hope is that by taking these bold measures we are able to stem the tide of transmissions and limit the impact on our City, our residents, our emergency systems and healthcare facilities over the long term.
The effects of the COVID-19 situation are already significant for many in our City. People are experiencing lost wages, dropped hours, lost rent, and lost business. Know that I will do everything in my power to help our community persevere and recover.
Please visit the website of our Economic Development Department for more information for businesses: www.slc.gov/ed. The State is also providing resources through its Department of Workforce Services. If your job has been affected by the pandemic, visit https://jobs.utah.gov/covid19/ for more information.
I also want to assure you that we are working diligently to address both the continuity of our own internal City operations and the services that the City and our partners provide. We are committed to working with the state, county, school district, and community groups to ensure that services needed by our most vulnerable neighbors, like delivery of food and medicine, are not disrupted.
There are resources, like the United Way’s 211 which helps connect people to food, housing and other needs. The school district is also providing weekday breakfast and lunch for children ages 0-18, and food boxes for families on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at select locations.
We will continue to update you both here, on this website, and across our city’s social media platforms. Please take care and stay tuned.
Erin Mendenhall
Mayor, Salt Lake City
