Sin mayor Erin Mendenhall calls for businesses to enforce masks even after the state mandate ends

Intermountain Healthcare says it will need masks after the state mandate ends on April 10.

The nationwide mask mandate will end on April 10, but Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall is asking local businesses to keep applying masks until health officials say it is safe to work without them.

Mendenhall was joined by a local conference owner at a masked news conference on Friday. Mendenhall stood outside Santo Taco in mid-March sun, saying spring is always a hopeful time, but it is especially hopeful now as the state sees the light at the end of the tunnel for the pandemic. She said she was grateful to the Spencer Cox government for opening vaccinations to anyone over the age of 16 from March 24.

Although COVID numbers in Utah are improving as more and more people are vaccinated, the mayor said the community needs to be careful. In addition to protecting lives, she said masks help customers protect their belongings in Salt Lake City.

“Masks were good for business and I do not want to see the progress destroyed before we go through with it,” she said.

Mendenhall said the end of the masked mandate on April 10 is not a date chosen with health-based reasoning. She said Salt Lake City is looking for direction for how long people should wear masks from health authorities, such as dr. Angela Dunn, state epidemiologist.

Mendenhall said city attorneys are evaluating whether the city can legally apply its own mask mandate. The option is ‘on the table’, but she said the city will first look at health data before deciding so.

Business owners at the news conference said they want to keep wearing masks while trying to get their frontline employees vaccinated.

Missy Greis, owner of Publik Coffee, said masks work. She said that Publik was completely masked and had only one exit service. Five of 64 employees at her four businesses had COVID, and no one contracted or transferred it at work.

“Wear your masks just a little longer, it works,” she said.

She said Cox knows this, but the Utah legislature apparently does not.

Mark Jensen of Harmons Grocery said he thinks it will take another eight weeks to vaccinate all the employees of the stores. He said he does not like masks either, but it is a small price to keep people safe and businesses open.

Jensen called for patrons to heed Cox’s advice and not be ‘rubbish’ when enchanting businesses. He asked that people remember that employees at Harmons only do their job and deserve to be treated with respect.

Ricky Arriola of Break Bread Barber Co. said that as a business owner, community member and father, he asks everyone to do their part by hiding themselves until health care professionals say it is safe to do otherwise. He said customers and staff at his barber would remain completely masked.

All facilities for Intermountain Healthcare will still need masks.

Eddie Stenehjem, an Intermountain Healthcare Infectious Diseases Physician, required face masks at his facilities “well before any form of government assignment.” ‘We did it because masks protect patients, protect caregivers and protect visitors. Just simple and easy. ”

And they will continue to put on masks “out of abundance of caution … because we feel it is our duty.”

Caregivers between mountains who work with patients or visitors will wear both procedure masks and eye protections. Employees who do not work with patients or visitors will continue to wear cloth masks. And masks will still be mandatory for both patients and visitors.

Intermountain will monitor conditions “and we will withdraw it if we think it is safe for all involved,” Stenehjem said.

He also recommended that Utahns continue to wear masks even after the state mandate has ended.

“I can tell you I’m going to wear a mask on April 11 and move forward,” Stenehjem said. “We know masks work. We have seen many clinical trials. We have seen many observational studies showing the importance of a mask in reducing transmission. ”

He urged people to continue wearing masks “when you are close to people and you can not get social distance.”

‘Absolutely, just put it on. This is the one thing that costs nothing. It does not affect the community in terms of an economic point of view. It leaves things open. ”

And this is necessary because, although the number of Utahns taking vaccinations is increasing, Stenehjem warned that ‘the virus level in our community is still at a high level’.

He also recommended that children continue to wear masks when playing indoors with other children. But that will change as the weather warms up and children play outside.

“I would say in the not too distant future that they can probably play without masks,” Stenehjem said, “because if you are outside, the spread between communities is small.”

He expressed optimism that Utahns would wear masks even after the state mandate expired.

“I think masks have become a social norm at this point,” Stenehjem said. “People are comfortable with it. When I leave, I grab my phone, my keys and my mask. It normalized. … And so my recommendation would be to continue with a mask. ‘