SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 14, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall amended her executive order requiring city employees and members of the public to wear a mask when they are in a city facility on Friday.
The amendment adds an exception for individuals who have been vaccinated based on new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said a news release.
“Yesterday’s CDC announcement that vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks is long awaited news for many,” Mendenhall said. “Epidemiologists and CDC recommendations will always guide our city’s response to this pandemic, so in accordance with the recommendations today, I will modify my executive order to make it clear that fully vaccinated individuals will be exempt from wearing masks in city facilities. City employees who are fully vaccinated are encouraged to continue wearing masks in public spaces or when it is not possible to socially distance from other individuals.”
On Thursday, the CDC updated its COVID-19 guidelines to state that fully vaccinated people are able to resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing. The CDC defines full vaccination as individuals being two weeks past their second dose in a two-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks past a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.
City employees who are fully vaccinated will be encouraged to continue wearing masks in public spaces or when it is not possible to socially distance from other individuals, the news release said. Unvaccinated city employees will continue to be required to wear masks inside city facilities, city vehicles, or when acting within the scope of city employment indoors.
Unvaccinated visitors will be asked to continue wearing a face mask when they are inside a city facility.
Additional exceptions include:
- Individuals with specific medical conditions
- 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
- Children younger than 3 years old.
This executive order is effective May 14 and will remain in effect until otherwise amended or rescinded.
