Spencer Cox, the Lieutenant Governor of Utah, recently took some time to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact throughout the state. In regard to the COVID-19 Community Task Force, the biggest update as of April 20 was that an increase in testing capacity was noticed.
In the past week, the most people thus far in the state of Utah had been tested. There were a number of days that more than 4,000 people were tested in a single day. Five percent of total overall tests are positive, which is one of the lowest percentages in the country. The mortality rate remains in the bottom five in the country as well.
“We’re headed in the right direction,” Cox stated.
Good news is that soon new protocols will be given from the hospital association to allow outpatient surgeries to begin. This will be very helpful, according to Cox, for those that have been waiting and will alleviate pain while also getting some of the doctors and nurses back to work. That announcement is expected to come very soon and is one more positive sign that Utah is trending in the right direction.
As someone that resides within rural Utah, Cox stated that it is always a concern for him. When asked how he foresees rural communities recovering from the pandemic, he responded that historically, when there is a significant recession, it does take rural Utah longer to come back than suburban Utah, which is something that the government will be monitoring. He believes that there could be some silver linings for rural Utah. Not long ago, Cox launched a project to allow more people to work from home in an effort to bring more jobs to rural Utah.
Cox stated that he believes that is one thing that all are learning through the pandemic; that more and more people can work from home and some of the jobs only available on the Wasatch Front can be done anywhere with an internet or fiber connection.
Regarding the upcoming election and the way the pandemic may impact it, Cox stated that lately, his entire focus has been on the response to the virus and he has had almost no time to focus on the political side at all. From an election standpoint, he believes the state of Utah is very lucky to be only one of four states that has the ability to conduct the elections by mail. Every registered voter gets a ballot by mail. With the pandemic in mind, legislature put in a provision to remove in-person voting for the primary election in June.
Due to concerns in other states, Utah does not want to see people risking getting infected to exercise their right to vote, thus transitioning to a by-mail election. The state is allowing counties to come up with creative ways to do things differently, such as some that do not want to vote by mail conducting drive-by voting.
Moving to the topic of the education system and how the temporary closure has been handled due to COVID-19, the lieutenant governor had great things to say about the parents and teachers of Utah.
“Some of the most heroic efforts we’ve seen have come from our teachers, our educators and administrators,” Cox stated.
He stated that school officials responded in less than a week to move to educating kids from home. With the help of teachers, it was truly remarkable. Cox is grateful that they are utilizing technology and allowing kids to continue to learn in such a difficult environment, acknowledging that it has not been perfect and he knows there are things that need to be addressed and fixed moving forward.
Cox felt confident in stating that no state has handled the education piece of the COVID-19 puzzle better than Utah. He expressed that he is grateful for parents, educators and everybody that has tried to figure this out and turn an impossible situation into something that is actually working.
To close his remarks, thoughts and updates on the pandemic, he stated that those in Utah always care for each other and work with a hope of a brighter tomorrow. To Cox, that’s what Utah is. He is grateful to everyone that is out there and working together to find a better way.
“This is a global pandemic we are facing right now; it has impacted every county and every state in our nation. And through all of that, there is no other place I would rather live than right here,” Cox concluded.