Two Ballet West dancers talk about surviving COVID-19, and having fun together in quarantine

Lucas Horns and Josh Shutkind, two corps artists at Ballet West, were among the first 50 people in Utah to test positive for the coronavirus.

They got home from a trip to New York on Saturday, March 14, feeling somewhat sick. They felt worse on Sunday, the 15th, and went to see a doctor. The next day — Monday, March 16 — their fevers spiked, with Shutkind hit the hardest, and the couple (who have been dating for two years) got maybe an hour’s sleep. On Tuesday, the 17th, they heard the voicemail they received the night before, with the news that their tests showed they had COVID-19.

In an exclusive interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, Horns and Shutkind talk about fighting through the illness, and how they’ve spent their time recovering in quarantine. Read it here on sltrib.com.

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This is just one of several stories I’ve written this week about Utah’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Here are some more:

• The “How You Can Help” blog offered details about how to donate to feed Salt Lake City students, fill the Utah AIDS Foundation’s pantry, get toilet paper to the elderly, and get cash to charities in need. And, in the blog, a child psychiatrist gave tips to help loved ones who are dealing with depression.

• The Utah Board of Pharmacy started writing regulations Tuesday to limit who can get chloroquine — an anti-malaria drug that’s been touted by President Trump and Fox News commentators as a possible coronavirus treatment.

• Here’s a list of Utah arts groups who are providing free streaming content for audiences who can’t come see them in person.

• Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute announced it would be moving its programs online for the summer — meaning that the Sundance Filmmakers Lab would not be held at the Sundance resort for the first time since the institute’s founding in 1981.

• Two major Utah hospital groups asked people to stop donating homemade face masks. The masks don’t do enough to filter out coronavirus, though they do have some utility. (I’ll be revisiting this topic next week.)

• A Utah manufacturer has switched its operations from boat canopies and awnings to making vinyl face shields for health care workers.

Read all of The Salt Lake Tribune’s coverage of coronavirus — of which I am just a small part — here.