SALT LAKE COUNTY (ABC4) – Salt Lake County has announced that it will not extend its mask mandate beyond the lifting of the statewide mandate on April 10.
County officials tell ABC4 that Salt Lake County Health Director Gary Edwards made the recommendation, via a letter you can read below, to not extend the mandate on Tuesday.
Because of the recommendation, the Salt Lake County Council will not meet on April 9 to discuss extending the mask mandate.
Salt Lake County Council Chair Steve Debry released the following statement to ABC4 regarding the announcement:
“The data is looking very positive. New cases of COVID-19 are decreasing, and each week Salt Lake County is vaccinating tens of thousands of residents, bringing us closer to the end of this pandemic. I would encourage Salt Lake County residents to continue to take action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 so we don’t experience what happened last year. I ask that as a community we respect those who want to continue to wear a mask and businesses that may require it.”
Despite not extending the mandate, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson has recommended that all county residents continue to wear masks to continue to protect those most at risk for COVID-19 who have not had the opportunity to get vaccinated.
She says that only 32% of county residents have been vaccinated.
Mayor Wilson issued an executive order on Tuesday that will require mask-wearing in all county government buildings.
Masks will still be required in all K-12 as stated in House Bill 294.
Read the full letter from Edwards below:
