Mayor Erin Mendenhall Updates SLC Mask Order

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall updated the city’s mask mandate that will continue beyond Saturday after the statewide mask requirement ends.

People in Utah’s capital city will still be required to wear masks in public settings, which the mayor defined as an open area used by two or more people who are not in the same household for business, education, recreation, transportation or other similar uses.

“We need to keep doing what’s worked: wearing masks,” Mendenhall said at a press conference Wednesday. “I can’t wait until the day comes when the data allows me to write an order rescinding the live-saving mask requirement, but today is not that day and April 10 is not that day either.”

The updated proclamation added event hosts will require employees and customers to wear face masks, which included restaurants.

The hosts must also post signs about COVID-19 symptoms and mask requirements at the social gathering.

Today I am using the emergency powers given the Office of Mayor to require that masks continue to be worn in public settings within #slc limits. The state’s requirement may end April 10, but nothing will change that day here in #slc pic.twitter.com/yLnCNZwQ6C

— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) April 7, 2021

The proclamation does not apply to religious services, but churches were encouraged to continue with social distancing, sanitation, and mask-wearing to control the spread of COVID-19.

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How do I prevent it?

The CDC has some simple recommendations, most of which are the same for preventing other respiratory illnesses or the flu:

• Avoid close contact with people who may be sick
• Avoid touching your face
• Stay home when you are sick
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and then throw the tissue in the trash
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. Always wash your hands with soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.
• If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.