Mayor Mendenhall Issues Mandate Requiring Masks In City Facilities

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall signed an executive order that requires masks to be worn in city facilities.

Mendenhall has said she would issue the order following the recent end to the state mask mandate.

“I’m committed to keeping our City team healthy, and ensuring the members of the public we interact with stay safe. Our City’s transmission and vaccination data, coupled with the advice of the CDC to continue wearing masks indoors tells me that we need to keep doing what has worked – wearing masks,” Mayor Mendenhall said in a statement.

Yesterday I signed an executive order requiring the public & City employees to wear masks in City buildings and vehicles. It mirrors requirements in place for State buildings. Wearing masks in enclosed spaces will help maintain the progress we’ve made https://t.co/bVpnYan4kY

— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) May 11, 2021

The mandate affects all city employees and guests. 

The Mayor’s office said employees will be also required to wear masks inside city vehicles or when acting within the scope of city employment indoors.

There are a few exceptions to the order, which include people with specific medical conditions.

Other exemptions include:

• While actively eating or drinking, provided that the individual remains in place while eating or drinking;
• While alone or only with other members of the same household in an office, room, cubicle, vehicle, or similar enclosure;
• When communicating as or with an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing if the speaker wears a face shield or uses alternative protection such as a plexiglass barrier;
• When engaging in work authorized by the City where wearing a face mask would create a risk to the individual, as determined by government safety guidelines;
• When needed to confirm an identity
• While outdoors and maintaining a physical distance of at least six feet from any individual from a different household; and
• Children younger than three years old.

The order will remain in effect until otherwise amended or rescinded.

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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.