The Utah COVID-19 Digital Collection is still accepting submissions! Do you have any stories or photos of how the pandemic has changed your daily life? Please submit photographs and stories here.

Public submissions to the Utah COVID-19 Digital Collection have been ongoing since April and have now reached nearly 750 items. To date, the collection consists of photographs, written stories, and several oral histories with physicians working on the front lines of the pandemic. View the entire collection here.

Photographs

Beginning in mid-March, Utah began experiencing closures across the state and Utahns daily lives and common activities dramatically changed. The photographic content, which represents 90% of the collection, largely public mirrored these changes. Social distancing, staying at home, mask wearing, working from home, k-12 and university students attending school from home, and in some instances, people experiencing COVID-19 or being tested for it. Below are some common themes and images from the photograph portion of the collection.

Shopping in supermarkets changed drastically with social distancing rules:

Sewing and wearing masks:

Working & learning from home:

Written Stories

About 10% of the collection consists of written stories. These stories have been submitted by University of Utah students, high school students, and the public. Below are some selected quotes from each group. Please browse the written stories segment of the collection for more.

“Most students at the University of Utah will long remember their spring break, but not because of what they did or because it was extended, rather, because this was a turning point in the world.”

University of Utah Student, Brock Allen

“It broke my heart as they announced that we would never go back to school again.”

High school senior, Quincy White

“Losing a parent is heart-rending, even when you know it is time for them to go. But our family soon found that many of the traditional ways we could honor, morn and memorialize our mother had been severely impacted by COVID-19.”

Lorraine Thompson

Oral Histories

In collaboration with Dr. Gretchen Case, Associate Professor in the Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities at the University of Utah School of Medicine, there are several in-depth interviews with physicians who are working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.