SALT LAKE CITY — A diverse team of Utah-based companies are teaming up to urge Utahns to help slow the spread of COVID-19 this holiday season.
Intermountain Healthcare, the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, Qualtrics, and Deseret Management Corporation are part of the campaign, with the catchphrase "We're All In."
Watch their public service announcement here:
“The volume of COVID patients coming into Utah’s hospitals simply isn’t sustainable. Our caregivers have gone all in to care for our community, but they’re feeling frustrated and exhausted,” Intermountain president and CEO Dr. Marc Harrison said. “We’re imploring our Utah community to go all in with us by masking, social distancing, and limiting social gatherings. We’re confident that we can pull together to prevent these hospitalizations and deaths.”
With Thanksgiving just over a week away, the group echoed the advice of health officials to limit gatherings on the holiday. Specifically, they urged Utahns to only gather with those in their immediate households in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus.
Utah’s current state of emergency, which mandates that people only interact with those living in the same home, is set to expire three days before Thanksgiving on Nov. 23, but it could be extended.
The campaign also encouraged Utahns to continue the practices of mask wearing, social distancing and proper hygiene including hand washing.
"We can do this. We need to do this for our family and our friends and for each other," said Gail Miller, owner and chair of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies. "Let's do it for our front line workers and for all of those who depend on us.”
Another local business mogul attempted to dissuade the division of opinions that has accompanied the pandemic for the past several months.
"I’ve had COVID, I have. It’s brutal. It floored me. I’ve had family members with COVID, this is real. I respect it.” - @RyanQualtrics #AllinUT | @Intermountain | @LHM | @MarcHarrisonMD pic.twitter.com/rITejpGMHb
— 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐞 (@brian_schnee) November 17, 2020
“It has nothing to do with politics," said Ryan Smith, the founder of Qualtrics and pending owner of the Utah Jazz. "We need to wear a mask and we need to be safe. I’ve had COVID. I have. It’s brutal. It floored me. I’ve had family members with COVID. This is real — I respect it.”