SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 14, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — The Salt Lake County Council has voted to extend the K-12 mask order for another 30 days.
“The council approved extending, by a six to one vote, the mayor’s Aug. 20 proclamation declaring a local emergency related to COVID-19, rising cases, and resurgence of the Delta variant,” said a statement from the council. “With the emergency declaration extended for 30 days, the subsequent emergency order by the mayor for masks in K-12 schools also is extended.”
The statement added: “The council concluded that a 30-day extension made sense as a starting point, and voted on this item in the limited formal meeting. The council can rescind this extension prior to the 30-day mark if data warrants.”
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall tweeted: “I appreciate @slcCouncil voting to extend this life-saving requirement tonight. The data shows masks are keeping our children healthy and in school for in-person learning. I’ll keep working to ensure SLC’s children are as healthy and protected from this virus as they can possibly be.”
The mayor on Monday sent a letter to the members of the Salt Lake City Council “strongly recommending” an extension of her emergency order requiring masks in the city’s K-12 schools.
The mayor cited as part of her recommendation data from the Salt Lake County Health Department showing Salt Lake City School District has the lowest rate of COVID-19 cases among county districts since the first day of school.
Mendenhall also noted her communication with school district officials and parents who have given positive feedback on how the mask requirement is working.
“I’m encouraged by the communication I’ve had with our school district that not only are they seeing nearly 100 percent compliance for wearing masks in class, they are also observing that the masks don’t appear to be impacting students ability to engage in their learning, or prohibit their social activities,” Mendenhall said, by way of a news release. “I’ve also been heartened by the parents I’ve heard from in our district, who have told me about the peace of mind they have sending their children to Salt Lake City’s schools knowing they’ll have an extra layer of protection against this virus.”
