As COVID-19 cases surge in Utah, the Salt Lake County Health Department issued a 30-day mask order that went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday (January 8).
The mask order required people in Salt Lake County to wear "well-fitting masks when indoors (or queueing outdoors) in public regardless of vaccination status, according to the county. Dr. Angela C. Dunn, Salt Lake County health department executive director added KN95 masks are recommended over cloth masks if possible.
The order is in effect until 5 p.m. Monday, February 7. The order will be enforced by businesses and operators of public spaces "as they do any other social-behavioral expectations that exist for their establishment," the county said.
Exemptions to the mask order include individuals under 2 years old with medical conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask, individuals engaging in work where they are alone, individuals for whom wearing a mask would create a risk to the individuals related to their work and individuals seated at a restaurant while actively eating or drinking.
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson approved the order Friday and shared a message on social media for residents. She said:
I just signed a health order sent over by Dr. Dunn, our director of health here at Salt Lake County. With omicron cases so rapidly increasing in our community and hospitals really, really at capacity right now, this was necessary. It's temporary — talking about 30 days of people when they're indoors wearing masks. And I know we can get through this together. It's a challenge, I know. The more that we can do now, the quicker we'll get this behind us and I appreciate your support.
Dunn said the mask order will help hospitals continue to provide health care during the COVID-19 surge.
“We desperately need to use every tool available to ensure our hospitals can continue providing excellent healthcare through this surge. We also need to ensure that our essential services have the staff necessary to operate—from law enforcement, to plow drivers, to schoolteachers. It is my obligation as health officer to take the action I believe has the best chance to prevent unnecessary suffering throughout our community," Dunn said in a press release.
In Salt Lake County, there are over 4,600 new cases a day, according to Wilson.