[10][11] The most distant report of shaking related to the earthquake occurred in Cokeville, Wyoming, over 110 miles (180 km) away from the epicenter.

[15] Because data appeared to indicate dwindling of local seismicity,[16] the prolonged mainshock-aftershock time period, and relative consecutiveness and similarity of the aftershock pair led them to be a point of interest for Utah seismologists.

[18] Coincidentally, the second aftershock occurred 2 hours before the Great Utah ShakeOut, one of many statewide earthquake preparedness drills.

[20] The Salt Lake Temple was undergoing a seismic upgrade at the time of the earthquake, and sustained minor damage.

[21] The historic Rio Grande Depot, St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, and dozens of mobile homes in West Valley City were damaged.

[20] As of December 2020, the Rio Grande Depot had still not re-opened due to damage being worse than initially thought, forcing a café that had occupied the building for 39 years to relocate.

[22] 8,200 U.S. gallons (31,000 L) hydrochloric acid leaked from a tank at Kennecott Utah Copper's refinery in Magna due to the earthquake, which authorities said was confined to the facility and did not impact public safety.

[24][25] A preliminary survey of Salt Lake County government-owned buildings recorded at least $48.5 million worth of damage.

The earthquake took place during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, which had caused many residents to stay home from work or school to avoid infection.

[32] The day of the earthquake, Governor Gary Herbert said, "This is extremely bad timing, because we already have the coronavirus issue going on right now causing a lot of anxiety.

[33] The earthquake disrupted the operations of school districts throughout the Salt Lake Valley who were distributing food and learning materials to families.

[20] Passengers were evacuated, which was easier because the airport already had fewer people than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic (about 9,000 compared to 24,000 under normal circumstances).