Utah mask mandate ordered amid surge in coronavirus cases

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Gary Herbert declared a state of emergency Sunday night and ordered a statewide mask mandate in an attempt to stem a surge in coronavirus patient hospitalizations that is testing the state’s hospital capacity.

Herbert and the Utah Department of Health issued executive and public health orders requiring residents to wear face coverings in public, at work and when they are within 6 feet of people who don’t live in their households. Several of the state’s largest counties already required masks, but Herbert, a Republican, had resisted extending the rule to the entire state despite a two-month surge of cases.

Herbert said in a televised address Sunday night that the time to debate masks had passed, while saying his orders won’t shut down the economy.

His new set of rules also calls for a two-week pause on extracurricular activities including athletic events, with the exception of high school championship games and Intercollegiate athletic events as long as testing and social distancing guidelines are adhered to. Herbert also ordered a limit on “casual social gatherings” to household members only.

The orders go into effect at 1 p.m. local time on Monday and run until Nov. 23.

By Jan. 1, all students at public and private universities who attend at least one class per week in person must be tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis.

State officials sent out an emergency alert to state residents on their phones Sunday to alert them to Herbert’s televised address outlining the orders.

Cases surging

Earlier Sunday, Utah health authorities announced a new high in the number of coronavirus hospitalizations as well as 2,386 more COVID-19 cases as the pandemic surges. Some 424 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Sunday, according to the Utah Department of Health. On Friday, hospitalizations stood at a then-record 395 COVID-19 patients.

Herbert’s office said in a statement Sunday that the mask-wearing mandate will be extended beyond Nov. 23 “for the foreseeable future.”

Utah’s seven-day average of new daily cases has reached a record-breaking 2,290. In the past two weeks, Utah’s positivity average — the percentage of coronavirus tests that are positive — has increased from 18.5% to 20.6%, according to state data. At least 659 residents have died of the coronavirus and more than 132,000 have been infected.

Utah also will ramp up its contact tracing efforts and its testing of younger individuals who usually show no symptoms of the coronavirus, including the college testing, testing for students engaged in extracurricular activities and, eventually, workplace testing for people 35 and younger, Herbert’s office said. Utah National Guard personnel will help in contact tracing, it said.

“To make a real difference in slowing the spread of COVID-19 and turning around the dire situation in our hospitals, we all need to do more,” the governor said in a statement. “This is a sacrifice for all of us. But as we slow the spread it will make all the difference for our overworked healthcare workers, who desperately need our help.”

Educators speak out

The announcement came after Utah’s largest teachers union called on Friday for the governor to move all public secondary schools in high coronavirus transmission areas to remote learning.

The Utah Education Association also called for Herbert to suspend all extracurricular activities that can’t comply with social distancing guidelines in high transmission areas from the Thanksgiving holiday throughout winter break.

Herbert has said he’s concerned that people are feeling fatigued from the pandemic and urged Utah residents to follow masking and social distancing requirements.

The coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.