UTAH’S WINTER INVERSIONS ARRIVE, OBSCURING MOUNTAINS WITH GUNKY AIR > A6

T R U T H . E M P O W E R M E N T . C O M M U N I T Y .

DEC. 8, 2020 « TUESDAY » SLTRIB.COM

BYU FOOTBALL: COUGARS AIM FOR REDEMPTION AFTER HEARTBREAKING LOSS AT COASTAL > B1
P U LIT Z E R PR I Z E W I N N E R

Remote classes may

cost SLC its students
Enrollment already had dropped by 1,500 in fall; of October to 21,143 by the end of
hundreds more have left in the past two months. November. And that drop comes af-
ter enrollment was already down by
roughly 1,500 compared with the
By COURTNEY TANNER major decline in enrollment there start of last school year.
The Salt Lake Tribune since the beginning of the coronavi- With that, Salt Lake City schools
rus pandemic. have now lost a total of 1,886 stu-
Another 300 students have trans- The district in Utah’s capital — the dents in fall 2020 alone, according FRANCISCO KJOLSETH | The Salt Lake Tribune
ferred out of schools in the Salt Lake only one statewide where all class- to data released to The Salt Lake Abigail Hansen, 5, joins the protest Monday at East High School
City School District over just the past es are taught online — went from Tribune. in Salt Lake City. Participants urged officials to resume in-person
two months — adding to the already having 21,460 students at the start Please see SLC SCHOOLS, A4 classes. Many students are failing with classes held entirely online.

Syracuse High tries, fails to stay open

The school shuts down after only 68%
of students participate in Test to Stay, a
COVID-19 rapid testing pilot program.
By JULIE JAG
The Salt Lake Tribune
Logan Brimhall had ev-
ery reason to participate in
Syracuse High’s pilot pro-
gram Test to Stay, which
proposed giving students
rapid antigen tests for
COVID-19 after a school
outbreak rather than shut-
ting down in-person class-
es for two weeks.
She had one reason not
to.
“It’s just kind of frustrat-
ing because it just seems
like we’re guinea pigs,” she
said, “and they didn’t nec-
essarily think through this
entire plan.”
Logan wasn’t the only
one who thought that way.
LEAH HOGSTEN | The Salt Lake Tribune Syracuse needed 80% of
Syracuse High School students leave school Monday. The Davis School District tried to avoid a second shutdown of the school due its 2,226 students, or all
to COVID-19 by using rapid antigen tests, but it couldn’t get the required 80% of students to opt in — a condition to stay open. but 457 of them, to agree
to be tested to prevent
its second shutdown in a
month. It got 68%.
Administrators had
hoped that under the pi-
lot program, created with
the help of the Davis Coun-
ty Health Department and
the Utah Department of
Health, they could charter
a new path and sail into
a smoother, less disjoint-
ed 2021. Instead, start-
ing Tuesday, school build-
ings will be shut down for
two weeks for deep clean-
ing. Virtual classes will be-
gin Wednesday and, with
their winter break starting
the week after the quaran-
tine ends, students won’t
return to in-person class-
es until January.
For the same reason, no
other school will probably
Please see SYRACUSE, A4

Utah’s rate of positive coronavirus tests goes up again

State officials report 2,231 new cases, 10 deaths on be spreading the virus unwittingly. weeklong average of more than
Tuesday; ICUs are about 91% full in major hospitals. And with the 2,231 new coro- Inside 13,000 new tests per day.
navirus cases reported Monday, LDS apostle says wearing a mask The high average rate for pos-
Utah’s rate of new diagnoses con- shows “Christlike love.” › A5 itive tests “could be an indicator
By ERIN ALBERTY | The Salt Lake Triubune tinued to rise. there are a lot of cases walking
For the past week, the state has around that we don’t know about
Utah set another record Mon- 27.1% for the past week — indicat- averaged 3,125 new positive test Department of Health reported. yet,” said Tom Hudachko, spokes-
day for the percentage of coro- ing a large number of infected resi- results a day, up from about 2,300 There were 7,551 new test results man for the Utah Department of
navirus tests that are positive, at dents are not being tested and may daily cases a week before, the Utah reported Monday, far below the Please see VIRUS, A4

MORE WEATHER
Fees drive low-income Utahns away INSIDE
INDEX
Classified Ads B6 Legal Notices A5
HI

42
from places such as Bridal Veil Falls Trump officials
refused to buy
Comics
Editorials
Kirby Column
B5
A8
A7
Obituaries
Sports
Television
A7
B1
B4 22
LO

During the pandemic, when outdoor recreation is 2017 found that some visitors to additional doses
the Wasatch-Uinta-Cache Na- of Pfizer vaccine AIR
peaking, it makes no sense to make close natural tional Forest go to great lengths QUALITY
destinations more difficult to access, critics say. to avoid fees, sometimes spend- NATION • Trump admin-
ing more on gas to drive to loca- istration officials passed
By LEIA LARSEN public, with a “reasonable” fee. tions that are free. Even mar- when Pfizer offered in the Today • Hazy. • A10
The Salt Lake Tribune But those who research outdoor ginal fees like the $5 charged summer to sell the U.S.
recreation have found that any to visit Mill Creek Canyon can government more doses UNHEALTHY FOR
SENSITIVE GROUPS
A developer eyeing Bridal Veil fee, no matter how modest, can act as a deterrent, especially for of its COVID-19 vaccine, VOL. 301 | NO. 55
Falls for a new tram and private dissuade people from visiting. those with low incomes. The New York Times said Mandatory restrictions •
drug rehab lodge says he wants A study from the Institute of “There’s a psychological ef- Monday. Now, Pfizer has Reduce driving, no burn-
to make the iconic Utah Coun- Outdoor Recreation and Tour- fect of having to open up your commitments to other ing (go to airquality.utah.
ty site more accessible to the ism at Utah State University in Please see FEES, A4 countries. > A3 gov for details)