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Today’s Kimball Junction car gathering likely spread Covid further into Summit County
People don’t give a crap. That should worry you for this year’s Park City Winter. Today, this was shown by the hundreds of car enthusiasts who gathered, mostly unmasked, in the Visitor Center Parking Lot in Kimball Junction.
As they stood in groups and then moved from car to car, you could see the virus spreading with them. Keep in mind that it is illegal to gather in groups of 50 or more. There were clearly at least two or three times this number at this gathering.
The only positive for Summit County residents is that most of these people were probably from the valley. You know, the same places that have accounted for about 2,100 new coronavirus cases over the past three days. So, hopefully, they came, some probably got infected, and they left.
God help us if they spent time or money at any business here. Sorry Hugo Coffee, you were probably too close to avoid the infected masses.
Outside of today’s impacts, it just bodes horribly for the winter. While car enthusiasts are passionate, they are few. Skiers and boarders from the valley are both passionate and plentiful. If the state reports more Covid-19 cases than New York City during a two-day stretch, and people are still willing to gather in the numbers seen this morning, I wonder what stupidity the ski season will bring.
Some may say we need to levy a fine on the owner of the parking lot where this event occurred. The owner, in this case, would be Summit County. That’s funny. However, the county should pass an emergency ordinance stopping car events in any lots that it owns — punishable by fines. If they don’t, they are complicit going forward — and that’s not the way our Health Department and government have operated since this began. You wish it wouldn’t have to be this way because previous car events seemed like people were having fun. Those were different times, though.
I really can’t believe that a few hundred people would want to gather in close proximity to others, given recent events — even if it was outside. Then again, I’ve never understood the thought process of a lot of people.
So far, since March, we have done pretty well against the coronavirus in Summit County. Except for the lodge party, our daily coronavirus counts are typically in the low, single digits. That’s likely not true for long.
Winter is coming.
Parkrag
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21 Comments
Why aren’t we pushing our mayor down o wall off the valley and that hellhole Hideout?
Yes I agree with your commentary. Wall off the valley and that hellhole Hideout.
Do nothing ever…
Please ask yourself some questions.
1. What is the death rate for Covid-19?
2. What is the death rate for healthy individuals with no pre-existing conditions?
3. Why am I afraid of this virus? Is it for personal reasons of pre-existing conditions?
4. Should I limit others’ freedoms because it my own worries or fears?
5. Do you think shutdowns and no social gatherings are for the greater good? What about living life, not being afraid of everything? What about businesses? What about earning a living?
If you’re afraid, stay home. It’s no one’s job but yours to take care of yourself and your family.
Do your own research.
Selfish, privileged, greedy. Throw in immature and stupid. We penalize people for being careless when driving. We penalize people for doing many things that damage society based on the greater good. Why not start penalizing these careless and aggressive immoral idiots for their attacks on our best efforts to restore our country.
This article was written by a Karen. Move on with your life and let others live theirs.
I am so ashamed of the people that attended this car show and the person that allowed it in the parking lot. How selfish can you all be? Do you wear a seat belt when you drive? When the mandate is to wear a mask for your sake and mine wear a MASK! How hard can that be?
Just stay home.
You don’t give a crap? That just shows how selfish and stupid you all are. If the mandate says to wear a mask thenWEAR A MASK!
Too bad you are bashing even the majority of individuals who were considerate by social distancing and wearing masks. You did touch on (albeit very briefly), that this was an outside event.
Additionally, I noticed there were a number of groups of people walking together who in fact were families and friends viewing the cars together as their ‘bubble’. The sane folks who arrived together in the same car and who would not be wearing masks even in the confines of their own home. The CDC recommends ‘wearing masks when outside when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain’. Summit County’s order requires that everyone wear a mask or face covering when in a building open to the public or when they are outside and a 6-foot distance from other people isn’t possible.
As an owner of one of the cars in the show, I chose to wear a mask throughout and felt comfortable answering questions to those Passing by. I noticed many others also had masks either on or hanging over their ear as they were sipping a coffee. I would say the good majority of individuals mask wearing or not, we’re walking through the parking lot with their bubble of friends and family while social distancing-again outside and mostly walking. I’d be more concerned about gatherings at a concert or football game where people are sitting in close proximity and not moving.
I would expect more from a journalist who would not take the above into consideration and simply generalize many of us in your opening line as the ‘People (who) don’t give a crap’.
Attend Again-
Point taken. Generalizations are not a good thing. There were people wearing masks and I’m sure some people were walking in the groups they came with. I’m sure some (maybe even many) people attending had health safety in mind.
The issue I have is that the State of Utah does limit outdoor gatherings to 50. “Private, social interactions that occur without oversight by a formal organization are allowable in groups of 50 or fewer.” That didn’t happen here and this is for everyone’s protection.
If you are standing next to someone who took off their mask to have some coffee, they cough, and they have the virus do you say “that’s OK because you were having some coffee”?
Likewise, if you are showing your car while wearing your mask, the mask protects others. If others without a mask come to you, you can still get infected. You may be willing to take that risk. However, I am not willing to accept that risk for you. Both because I care about you as a human and the impact it could have on the broader community. I can get over the first idea by understanding you have the right to accept whatever personal risk you want (which I believe). However, on the broader community risk that you getting infected may cause, I can’t get over that.
The rules are in place to protect us all. I hope you are right and I read the situation wrong. I hope there was no risk to the broader community from the event. I hope no one is impacted by this either directly or indirectly. We’ll likely never know for sure unless it becomes a superspreader event.
Either way, it seems to have broken the rules and increased risk.
Your chances at getting Covid-19 at an outside car show are so low. Stop the Fauxvid-19 hysteria.
I totally agree with M in his previous comments.
Those who ‘re compromised with health stay safe… The rest of the people can’t afford to jerk around looking jobs.
You gonna get many many more deaths for starving ones that for this stupid covid19.
Let the winter begin and flood us with tons of people…
This has got to be the most passive aggressive, condescending, holier than thou piece of journalism I’ve read on a local level. Not only was the event outside, most were wearing masks and stood at reasonable distances from one another. Go grocery shopping during peak hours and you’ll pass a similar amount of people. Not everyone is living in fear of the pandemonium. We are social creatures and it is possible to attend events such as this and still adhere to the ever-changing guidelines set by the overly cautious.
Imagine being such a moron that you wrote an article like this.
Thank you for your insightful commentary. You bring a lot to the conversation.
Have you been to Main Street lately? Kimble Junction? Walmart?
I was in Walmart Monday, looking for yet more hand sanitizer, and counted 20 people in 5 minutes that had either never been told that their nose needed to be covered too, or had pulled their mask completely down off their nose and mouth.
What about the hotels that are open? They’re bringing in people from all over and providing them a place to stay while they encourage them to bolster Park City’s economy.
Restaurants? Need I say more?
Are you going to write one of these opinion/complaint pieces each day about the ski resorts when they open? Or just turn and ignore them?
This car gathering has been happening monthly for a few years, and the organizers did everything they could leading up to this one to encourage people to social distance and wear masks. If you’d looked at the event as a positive, you’d have seen that the majority of participants were social distancing, and many were wearing masks even though spacing could be maintained.
What an asinine commentary backed by absolutely no factual information. The majority there were indeed donned in facemasks and why pick on this crowd when so many other events, gatherings, day to day interactions have occurred that “could” spark more COVID cases? “You could see the virus spreading with them”, really now, how does that happen or are you just adding fear-fuel to the fire like so many other people tend to do? Heavens forbid a select group of people just wanted to feel normal for a matter of two hours and look safely at other vehicles, outside mind you. Please, go complain about something else that is actually worth complaining about.
There are two facts. In the picture we published, a few were wearing masks — not the majority. Second, in the yellow phase of reopening gatherings are to be less than 50 people. That is for everyone’s protection.
As I’ve said in other comments, it sounds like the organizers of this event had the best intentions and I personally like these type of events. However we are in a precarious position. Talk within Park City schools (at a teacher level and into school administrators) is already about shutting down and going online. If schools shut down, it would be a hard decision for resorts to open. That,along with a diminished Sundance, will crush people.
I look forward to a time when we don’t have to care but now is not that time. I know the rash of people flooding Park Rag comments this morning think this story is just complaining. It’s not. What I am saying is choose wisely. If you want to go to a car show that violates the rules, then I can’t stop you. Just like I can’t stop people abusing the mask requirement at Walmart. I wish you wouldn’t.
However, if (when) this all goes bad, it’s a million little decisions like car shows, and lacrosse tournaments, and whether high school sports are played, and choir practices, and… that will have caused it. If one person gets covid from any of those things, the event wasn’t worth it. That’s why I say follow the rules. It gives us the best shot of navigating the winter.
Now if you want to rehash whether covid is worse than the flu, constitutional rights, Vail, how this is all a hoax, all the other places not enforcing the rules, etc. there are better places for that. My goal is to do what I can to keep Park City functioning. I’m a gnat on the wall in that respect. I have no real power, but I can point things out.
For instance, I heard from a person who was reading the Park Rag article while she was at the park on Sunday. She couldn’t believe tha people would go to the car show. She said she then looked around at how crowded the park was and realized she was doing the same thing. She said she then put on her mask. That one victory is enough for me to put up with the crap I’m getting from some people on this article.
What a BS writeup. This was an outdoor event, many wearing masks and the ones who where not were together in tyheir goups.. I think your anti-car and pro granola views are clear. Main street PC on the weekends is far worse
Facts –
Outside event
Sunny day (UV)
Plenty of room to social distance
Many wearing masks
Fun time for all
Discriminatory article – My opinion
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