Moab tells tourists to stay away, not equipped to handle coronavirus outbreak

MOAB, Utah (KUTV) — Lines backed up the entrance to Arches National Park on Monday as many Utahns headed south with plans to “self-isolate” in the desert.

But the locals in Moab are asking visitors to stay away.“Please, take this seriously,” Samantha Zimmerman, a Moab resident, posted her plea to Facebook, which has now been shared dozens of times. She wrote:

“Please, take this seriously,” Samantha Zimmerman, a Moab resident, posted her plea to Facebook, which has now been shared dozens of times. She wrote:

Moab tells tourists to stay away, not equipped to handle coronavirus outbreak. (KUTV file)

“This won’t be popular but I feel it needs to be said: given the situation, please do not take remote work and online classes as an invitation to travel.”

Zimmerman said over the weekend, tourists filled Moab. You’d never know there was a global pandemic unfolding at the moment.

“The outdoor community as a whole should really not be using this as an excuse to travel,” she said.

Moab and nearby rural communities have limited medical resources.

Dylan Cole, chief medical officer at Moab Regional Hospital, said the community will be especially vulnerable should they see any cases of COVID-19:

“We are, as many rural areas, particularly vulnerable to the effects of a large surge of cases of COVID-19 due the very limited medical infrastructure in rural communities.”

Moab tells tourists to stay away, not equipped to handle coronavirus outbreak. (KUTV file)

Moab Regional Hospital said it only has access to 4 ventilators, including one portable unit.

“We have 17 bed critical access hospital that has no intensive care unit. We are mobilizing and making the step we can within in our resources to prepare,” he said.

But he’s concerned what confirmed cases of COVID-19 would do to the Moab community. Cole says:

“I think that everyone that works in health care is a little bit scared. We are apprehensive because we haven’t seen anything like this in our careers or in our lifetime.”

Moab tells tourists to stay away, not equipped to handle coronavirus outbreak. (KUTV file)

Moab Regional Hospital is calling on Governor Herbert to shut down overnight lodging and restaurants as well as close the national parks.

Zimmerman encourages Utahns to cancel their trips to southern rural communities and to head public health warnings by staying put.

“Of course we’d all like to go on behaving normally, but we need to realize that this is the time to take action before there’s a problem,” Zimmerman said.