SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson have not ruled out instituting their own city or nationwide mask mandates after the nationwide mask mandate expired on April 10.
But depending on whether Utah continues to meet certain standards related to COVID-19 cases, hospitalization rates, or vaccination grants, they may not have the power to do so under the Utah Legislature Endgame Bill. . Governor Spencer Cox has voiced support for the bill after negotiating for the April 10 statewide mask removal date, buying into a few more weeks with lawmakers initially ready to approve the bill with immediate effect. effective date and a veto majority.
Mendenhall and Wilson, Democratic mayors of Utah’s most populous city and county, do not support the April 10 end date. While throwing their support behind businesses that maintain their mask needs until epidemiologists say it is safe not to do so, they are still weighing their own options to keep local mask mandates in place.
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Both mayors told Deseret News Friday they do not rule out the possibility of issuing potential mask mandates in Salt Lake City or Salt Lake County. They said their lawyers are still reviewing HB294, which Cox has not yet signed, and whether it will ban the mayors of the city or province from issuing their own mandates if the state still does not meet the COVID-19 criteria reached to lift all restrictions by April. 10.
New emergency orders would also be subject to approval by the city council or county after 30 days under another bill also approved by the Utah legislature that limits the executive powers of emergency.
“Our lawyers judge it,” Mendenhall said. “Hopefully we will not have the need to set up a local mandate, but it is an option I will keep on the table.”
Mendenhall said the decision would be based on COVID-19 data. “Hopefully we will see the deterioration we see. But we will rely on the local data to make the decision. ”
“We are currently reviewing options” assuming Cox signs HB294, Wilson told the Deseret News on Friday. However, she said: “The most likely path is the approval of the Land Council as the department of health. We are currently working through the options and awaiting the approval of the bill.”
The Salt Lake County Council is currently in charge of a GOP veto-proof majority.
Once the state of Utah once reached a two-week COVID-19 case rate of less than 191 per 100,000, less than 15% of intensive care unit beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, and once the state receives – but do not administer – at least 1.63 million vaccinations, then all orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic will be terminated, both at state and local level.
Although the mask mandate expires on April 10, other restrictions, including mask requirements for schools and events larger than 50, will remain in effect until the COVID-19 criteria are met.
Mendenhall said the April 10 date differs from data-based decisions.
“The evolution of the way the state has dealt with COVID restrictions and the different levels over the past year has gotten better over time, thus deviating from political decisions, rather anchoring the data and the pandemic,” Mendenhall said. . “This decision on April 10 appears to be a step away from the database health approach.”
Wilson at a Salt County County Council meeting last week expressed serious concern about HB294 and is concerned about the barriers it has posed to local mask mandates if the state meets the criteria in the bill.
“We are SOL, in my opinion, after the 10th of April,” Wilson told the council. “I’m worried about our children. They will only be vaccinated by the end of the year. ”
From talks with Gary Edwards, director of the Salt Lake County Department of Health, Wilson said it is possible that the state could already meet these three criteria anyway.
“Probably as fast or by the end of April if we stay on track with falling rates,” Wilson said. “So I have very serious concerns about the adoption of this bill and what it could mean.”
As of Friday, government officials have calculated that the state amounts to about 233.8 cases per 100,000 over 14 days, approaching the required 191 case rate for the removal of the requirements. The state already complies with the use rate of ICU beds, with an estimated 12% occupied by COVID-19 patients. And the state also exceeded the 1 million mark for vaccines administered.
Salt Lake City businesses support the mask requirement
Meanwhile, Mendenhall encouraged Utahns to continue wearing masks.
‘Although our COVID-19 numbers have dropped and continued to drop significantly over the past few months, wearing a mask is still important. We are not done, ”said Mendenhall.
Her remarks come during a news conference she and several local business owners held in Salt Lake City Friday at the Santo Taco eatery, 910 N. 900 West, on the west side to encourage visitors to Salt Lake City to April 10 to continue wearing masks and respecting businesses. who chooses to require it.
“I am very grateful to businesses that decide to ask employees and customers to continue wearing masks, even after the state mask mandate expired on April 10,” Mendenhall said. “We want the good news to keep coming. And part of that is that our businesses and residents continue to take precautions and wear masks until we’re completely out of the woods. ‘
The mayor announced that she “asks businesses in Salt Lake City to join us today to continue to need masks in their facilities until our health care experts say it is safe to remove them.”
Mendenhall calls Wilson’s mask order in Salt Lake County an ‘incredible benefit to consumer confidence’ in Utah’s most populous province. She attributed it because it helped Salt Lake County residents and shoppers feel more comfortable. We have heard many times that Salt Lake City business customers feel safe knowing that Salt Lake City businesses require and apply the masked mandate. ”
“Not only did it slow down the spread of the virus, but it saved lives,” Mendenhall said. “And it is still today. Masks were good for business. And I do not want to see the progress destroyed until we go through it. ”
Local Salt Lake business owners of Santo Taco, Break Bread barber shop, Publik Coffee, and president of the Utah grocery store chain Harmons have urged their customers to continue wearing masks.
“Public is asking the community to continue wearing your mask after the removal of the mandate on April 10,” said Missy Greis, owner of Publik. “We also ask for people’s kindness and grace when interacting with employees in the industry and with each other.”
Breaky Bread owner Ricky Arriola said, “We want to make sure the momentum we see doesn’t stop,” so his barber shop will also need masks after April 10th.
“We’re going to make sure we do our part,” he said. “As long as we work on it together, we see it over.”
Mark Jensen, president and CEO of Harmons, said Harmons would also retain its mask mandate, with 80% of store workers still unvaccinated.
“We sincerely believe that the mask is just such a small price to have all the businesses open,” Jensen said.
Jensen also agrees with the governor’s remarks and urges Utahns not to be a jerk to pick up employees when it comes to stores that prefer to meet the mask requirements.
“Please remember, they just work. They do their job, ”Jensen said. “They did not put it in place. They did not make the pandemic. They just try to show up for work every day. Please remember his words: “Do not be a moment.” ‘
According to Greis, the pandemic brought many challenges and very few easy solutions to the restaurant and bar industry. Our industry has made incredible sacrifices to keep our employees and the community safe. ”
She said that Publik continues its mask requirement ‘because we have learned something: masks work.
“We have come this far. That’s why we ask for your support – support our industry, support our community, wear your masks just a little longer. They do work, ”said Greis. “The Cox government knows this, but apparently the legislature in Utah does not know. So please stand with us. ”