SALT LAKE CITY – While health officials continue to urge caution as Utah fights the coronavirus pandemic, many communities move forward with New Year’s Eve celebrations designed to sound safe in what everyone expects to be a year much better than 2020.
On Thursday night there are still opportunities to catch fireworks and events. But, as Dr. Edward Stenehjem, an Intermountain doctor, said in Wednesday’s questions and answers, Utahns should take the same recommended precautions before Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“This holiday season, our recommendation is to meet only with people in your home,” Stenehjem said. “Do not invite other people who may have the virus, symptomatically or asymptomatically, to transmit the virus. This is what we also recommend in Thanksgiving, in accordance with the recommendations of (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). In our community the speed of transmission is so high. “
The average of seven days of positive COVID-19 testing in Utah is 25%. “There’s just a lot of COVID-19 in our communities,” Stenehjem said.
The state has put together its own tips for holding safe parties on its coronavirus website.
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart … This year, to save me from tears, please physically distance yourself and wear a mask. Please do not give COVID to anyone special.
– Utah State COVID-19 Response (@UtahCoronavirus) December 29, 2020
“The more people from different households interact with a person in a meeting, the closer the physical interaction is and the harder the interaction, the greater the risk that a person with COVID-19 can spread it to other people, either symptoms or not, ”says the state.
It is recommended that meetings be kept as small as possible and that participants wear masks indoors, distance themselves physically, practice good hygiene, and not attend events if they are ill or have been exposed to COVID-19.
Modified events
The annual “The Last Hurricane” of The Gateway celebration is a few years old, but it had already become the largest New Year’s Eve party in the state. Live shows and fireworks will return this year, but organizers encourage people to tune in online instead of performing in person.
There will be live people at the event, as The Gateway sold a limited number of tickets so families could enjoy the outdoor show in the main plaza area. The parts will be physically spaced, masked, and assigned a seat; however, tickets for the event are sold out. Interested Utahns can still join a waiting list in case a registered person is unable to attend.
For the rest, The Gateway encourages Utahns to stream the action from home. “People can sign up at lasthurrahslc.com or atthegateway.com and they will be able to see the band’s performances, countdown and fireworks,” said Jacklyn Briggs, marketing manager for Gateway. “There will be live footage from The Gateway so people can live a local experience from the comfort and safety of their home.”
The entertainment will begin at 11pm with music from the local event The Cool with Bri Ray.
Some Gateway dining options will also open late, including HallPass and Dave & Buster’s, in addition to The Store grocery store. “Anyone who comes down is welcome to enter open traders,” Briggs said. “However, just as a reminder, users will reach capacity because they have a certain amount of space that, once filled, will not allow more people to enter. So first you get there, first you serve.”
The plaza area will be cordoned off only for ticket holders.
This is the gift you can give us. Put on a mask, do your social distancing, minimize your contacts so that you do not contribute to the continuous transmission of this virus.
–Dr. Edward Stenehjem, Intermountain physician
Elsewhere in Utah, Provo holds a fireworks party with shows at 9:00 p.m. Aquarium Living Planet hosts a “New Year’s Eve Noon” event, there’s a holiday laser show going on at the Maverik Center and the popular Luminaria light show at Thanksgiving Point has a sold out New Year’s Eve event with fireworks .
Of course, there will be parties and rallies and crowded bars. But there are safer options this New Year’s Eve and, as Stenehjem said during the Intermountain presentation, the best way to thank Utah health workers this holiday season “is not to get COVID and not transmit COVID no one else “.
“This is the gift you can give us,” he said. “Put on a mask, do your social distancing, minimize your contacts so you don’t contribute to the continuous transmission of this virus.”
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Graham Dudley