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Health officials warn of bacilli
Reports of Spanish flu appear in Eastern states and Europe.
This is important because this is one of the earliest reports in Utah to draw attention to the upcoming pandemic. Officials must have had a sense it could be bad at this point, because this article includes health recommendations to avoid getting the virus. -
Origin of Spanish flu discovered; health commission to meet to weigh options
Flue believed to have been brought to SLC by a family from Evanston, WY, who came to attend a fair. A rooming house on West Temple was discovered to have 6-8 ill people. Reporting of cases encouraged by health commissioner. Commissioner describes symptoms and recommends hot drinks, medicine, and sleep as a treatment. Additionally, he recommends covering the mouth when sneezing or coughing, and avoiding public gatherings. This is important because we have the first Utah cases identified. -
63 new cases; funerals might be stopped
As Spanish flu cases in Utah jump to 63, public officials recommend avoiding funerals of flu victims and say they will take more drastic measures to enforce this if not voluntarily enforced. Coalville is particularly hard hit. The Red Cross is hard at work. This is important because the state is not making mandates at this point, and leaving measures to mitigate flu up to cities and other third parties. -
Public gatherings cancelled
State board of health cancels all indoor gatherings. This is the first official step Utah takes to stop the spread of the flu. -
Motion picture releases halted
In order to help stop the spread of the flu, the National Association of Motion Picture Industry stops releasing reels to movie theaters for about a month. This is important because private enterprises are taking a stand and we see this repeated in 2020. -
Spanish flu arrives in Cedar City
6 cases develop after visitors return from a fair in Salt Lake City. Cancellation of public gatherings being considered; quinine touted as best medicine for the flu.This is interesting because quinine has been purchased by 2020 legislators despite recommendations against it. Did desperation drive them to do it? -
Claims of yellow journalism
Author claims the order for shutting down of public places was uncalled for and promoted unnecessary hysteria regarding the flu. This is important because this same argument comes up again in 2020, largely along partisan lines. -
Spitting regulations enforced
People caught spitting in public will be fined. This is interesting because we don't have issues with public spitting today. I wonder if it is because of this law that it is not common today? -
Pamphlets to be distributed
Judge Mercy hospital renovated and opened to care for patients; boy scouts to distribute 20,000 pamphlets on the flu; 40+ cities have cases; mildly symptomatic people may be greatest spreaders so coughers and sneezers may not be allowed out; two cafes ignore state orders; Boston, Philly, New York and Chicago are hardest hit cities in US. This is interesting because nowadays we have television and social media to spread the word. Pamphlets as a means of communication has become obsolete. -
Department store sales halted
State health commissioner Dr. Beatty at the capitol orders no sales because it leads to large group gatherings. This is interesting because sales are not considered today to be an impetus for large gatherings. -
Turning point in flu deaths not reached as thought
Teachers make food for needy and volunteer as nurses. Wearing of masks recommended. 1,000 people estimated to have Spanish flue in SLC. This is interesting because in 2020 people estimated the height of virus transmission to happen in April, but cases have only doubled since then. So an overconfidence in 1989 as well as 2020. -
Home teaching discontinued by Weber County Stake President
This put a stop to Mormon neighbors visiting each other on a monthly basis. It's interesting because we see a cancellation of church in 2020. -
20,000 sick
Incubation period of flu is 48 hours, so people are unknowingly transmitting it. 138 cities infected. SLCSD superintendent calls meeting for teachers to sign up as nurses. This is interesting because I am an SLCSD teacher, and there was no pressure put on me in 2020 to step into the center of the pandemic. -
SLC teachers called slackers
Of the 735 teachers of SLCSD, only 190 have volunteered to be nurses. Teachers are drawing their paychecks while schools are closed, and those that haven't volunteered yet are slackers. This shows that teachers have probably never been respected in the state of Utah. At least today we aren't pressured into joining up as nurses during COVID-19. -
Face masks are compulsory
Directions are given as to how to make face masks which were made compulsory (though another article says they were not compulsory. I am confused as to which is true). -
Flu homes to be placarded
Homes of the infected must place large signs with the word "Influenza". This is unique in that we don't identify the sick today. -
Influenza reported as waning
28 new cases and three deaths reported. Multiple cities reporting less or no new cases; quarantine restrictions may be removed. This follows todays trend of Herbert loosening restrictions after a month, although we are still reporting hundreds of cases daily in 2020. -
Provo requires public masks or fines
Ordinance passes that fines anyone appearing in public without a mask. This is interesting because Provo is becoming stricter while SLC is loosening its restrictions. -
Business's hours to be curtailed
Business hours managed. Grocery stores, men's clothing and shoe shops, five and dimes, department stories, specialty stories, millineries, jewelry, hardware, music hours limited to clear street traffic. Restaurants, drug stores, cafes, cigar and candy stores to stay as normal. People failing to report illness to be prosecuted with $300 fine or 6 months jail. Influenza placards proposed. New cases at 158 but these are on the decline. Interesting government response. Why the differences in stores? -
Inoculation stations open; liquor applications occur
People wanting to be inoculated against the flue can come to various places to receive it. People can apply to health department to receive liquor to treat the flu, although it is unclear how liquor treats it. Now I am very curious as to what the reasoning behind the liquor is. -
Churches to reopen
Sate and city health boards allow reopening of churches. This is about 2 months after the first cases appeared. -
Provo restrictions lifted
All flu and quarantine restrictions to be lifted on Dec. 27 -
LDS pray to overthrow inluenza
LDS church officials designate December 22 as a day of fasting and prayer for global relief from the flu. Interesting that it was this late in the game. I would have thought they would have started a day of fasting and prayer much earlier on, as they did in the 2020 pandemic. -
Theaters reopen
After 10 weeks of being closed, the theaters reopen to moderate crowds. This is interesting because I read somewhere else that this bothered some people because the theaters reopened before the schools did. -
City schools to reopen December 30
Schools to reopen with an additional hour of instruction time added on to make up for lost time. School officials apparently trimmed all the learning down to fit into the remaining time. -
Ogden restricts visitors; Park City only to allow soldiers in
Visitors must present certificates of good health to enter Ogden; Park City let only soldiers into the city, and placed them under quarantine. This reminds me of when Herbert tried to institute travel declaration, which were quickly ignored. -
Utahans get coronavirus
4 Utahans were quarantined for coronavirus on cruise ship. This is the first time we hear about coronavirus in the context of Utah. -
Herbert declares state of emergency; 1st COVID-19 case is confirmed.
This happened just hours before the first Utah case is confirmed. Toilet paper starts to disappear from shelves. (I remember I was teaching 12 hour days and had to get my parents to buy me toilet paper, because it was always off the shelves by the time I got home.) Utah was the number one state for food hoarding in the nation, buying 270 percent more than the previous year. -
Air and land travelers declarations required
Visitors to Utah must take digital declaration surveys upon arrival to help track coronavirus infections. This was quickly ignored. -
Jazz player tests positive
Rudy Gobert tests positive for virus and NBA suspends its season. 3rd case of virus confirmed, this time in Summit county. It was interesting because he had previously scoffed at the virus on live television. He ended up having to apologize and donate to the relief fund. -
Herbert limits gatherings of 100+
In addition, Utah's major universities announced the move to online classes. This prompts outrage from some Utahans who believe the move infringes on their constitutional rights. -
Massive business closures announced
Trump announces Europe travel suspension. Most Utahans start to work from home. -
Soft closure announced for Utah schools
Schools are moving to online instruction for 2 weeks; meals will still be provided by schools during this time. The following work we teachers will still going into work in the empty buildings. 2 weeks later we would be working at home. -
Theaters close
Megaplex announces state closures. This is similar to the theater closures of 1918. -
1st community spread virus case
Previous cases had been from travelers outside of Utah. This meant quarantine measures hadn't worked. -
SLC stops dine-in restaurant options
In response to the emergency announced by the Utah Department of Health. Take-out services still available. Food delivery became popular at this time. -
First person dies; missionaries swarm airport
One day after testing positive for the virus. Herbert disappointed when hundreds of missionaries returned to SLC to large crowds of families and friends. The LDS church ended up enforcing missionary pickup procedures because of the bad press they got. -
Herbert issues economic response plan
Three phases: urgent, stabilization and recovery. Herbert was attempting to take an active role in managing the economic consequences of the virus. -
Summit County issues stay at home orders
Residents are asked to stay put, visitors are asked to stay out, and all but essential businesses and services have been ordered closed, resulting in the shuttering of restaurants (restricted to curbside and delivery only), bars, gyms, spas, libraries, movie theaters, clothes stores, shops, state parks and ski resorts. Park City has been hit exceptionally hard per capita. -
Herbert issues Stay at Home order
SLC mayor Erin Mendenhall announces police enforcement of order in SLC. This is considered overreach by some Utahns, but most seem to comply. -
Peak of virus predicted
to occur on April 19. 17 deaths a day predicted during peak. Spoiler alert: the peak did not happen on April 19. There also have not been 19 deaths a day. By June have only seen just over a hundred deaths since the virus started. -
Test Utah.com program launches
An online assessment program performed 50,000 assessments, referred 2,600 people, and led to the testing of 800 people for COVID-19. 2 testing centers are in Utah County. They will later come under fire for the accuracy of the testing. -
Popular recreation sites shut down
Sites in San Rafael swell and Grand Staircase shut down. Capitol Reef only one of 5 national parks still open in Utah. State parks closed to those outside of residence county. Its interesting because Utahans received conflicting advice on whether to go to parks or to stay inside. -
Health department using public tracing
Public health officials work 6 days a week to trace spread of virus. This is a smart and necessary thing to do to stop the spread. -
Utah attempt to buy anti-malarial drugs
Despite objections from medical experts, the state is seeking to buy these FDA approved drugs to treat up to 200,000 cases. I am unsure why Utah was so eager to spend 800,000 to get these, since now they don't want them. -
Trump calls for reopening of national parks
Herbert agrees but mentions he will work with parks for a safe and structured reopening. Utah is eyeing a reopening as soon as possible at this point. -
Herbert launches color-coded recovery plan
These define risk categories and how to mitigate them. -
Herbert moves most cities in state to yellow
Except for Summit and Wasatch Counties, and SLC. While cases are continuing, deaths are low. -
Death toll surpasses 100
This occurred 66 days after the first death. It is not as high as people feared it would be, although hundreds of new cases are still cropping up daily. -
Herbert moves West Valley, Magna, and Grand Valley to yellow
Arches and Canyonlands park will be able to reopen. The state is looking good for reopening everything. -
New cases average over 200 a day
There are a total of 9,797 cases in the state. Some cases emerging from new hotspots in Logan and St. George. Luckily the death rate is not increasing. -
Virus cases spike a month after reopening state
State is averaging 200 cases a day. Cases is May are more than double those in April. Still, deaths are not increasing.