SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, July 28, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall signed an executive order Tuesday requiring both vaccinated and unvaccinated employees and members of the public to wear a mask inside city facilities.
The updated order follows new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that vaccinated individuals should resume wearing a mask when indoors, according to statement from the mayor’s office.
“As a city we’ve always looked to the CDC and our health experts to guide our actions against the spread of COVID-19, and today is no different,” Mendehall said. “It’s clear that cases are rising across the nation and right here in Utah. This measure we are taking is an important step in protecting everyone working or visiting a city facility.”
The executive order is similar to what the city previously had in place in May, after the state’s “endgame” legislation required the lifting of the citywide mask requirement, the news release said.
City employees will be required to wear masks inside city facilities, city vehicles, or when acting within the scope of city employment indoors.
Visitors will also be required to wear a face mask when they are inside a city facility.
There are exceptions within the executive order for individuals with specific medical conditions. Other exceptions to wearing a mask 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 removal is 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This executive order is effective July 28 and will remain in effect until otherwise amended or rescinded.
