Utah county home to popular ski town closes eateries, bars

SALT LAKE CITY – A Utah mountain county home to the popular ski town of Park City has closed all restaurants, resorts, bars, entertainment venues, spas and exercise facilities in hopes of preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

Summit County health officials announced the measure Sunday night, a day after the area’s two major ski resorts — Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort — said they would be closing.

A bartender in Park City tested positive for coronavirus, Utah state health officials said Saturday. They said it marked the first community spread in the state. Summit County Health Officer Rich Bullough cited that case and the fact that Park City is a major tourist destination in his order explaining the closure.

“The nature of Summit County as a destination resort community raises the risk of transmission within Summit County from travellers coming here, as well as the risk that there may also be further transmission visitor to visitor that may contribute to infections outside of Summit County,” the order said.

The closure is in place until April 16, Summit County health officials said.

Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, Washington state and New York City are among other places that have ordered bars to close and restaurants to stop dine-in service.

In Utah, a total of 28 people had tested positive for coronavirus as of Sunday night, according to state health officials. There have been no deaths.

The coronavirus, deemed a pandemic by the World Health Organization, infected more than 150,000 people and killed over 5,700. The disease for most people causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, it can cause more severe illness. The vast majority recover.