30-day mask order for everyone regardless of vaccination status in Salt Lake County

Salt Lake City, Utah — A 30-day mask order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday in response to the record-breaking surge of the omicron COVID-19 variant.

On Friday, SLCoHD Executive Director Dr. Angela Dunn issued the order, which requires all people in Salt Lake County, regardless of vaccination status, to wear well-fitting face coverings when indoors or queueing outdoors in public.

“We desperately need to use every tool available to ensure our hospitals can continue providing excellent healthcare through this surge,” Dunn said. “We also need to ensure that our essential services have the staff necessary to operate—from law enforcement, to plow drivers, to schoolteachers. It is my obligation as health officer to take the action I believe has the best chance to prevent unnecessary suffering throughout our community.”

The complete order will be available at SaltLakeHealth.org by 3 p.m. Friday.

Exemptions include:

• Individuals under 2 years of age and those with medical conditions, impairments, or disabilities that prevent wearing a mask
• Individuals engaging in work where they are alone and individuals for whom wearing a mask would create a risk to the individual related to their work as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines
• Individuals seated at a restaurant or other food/beverage establishment while they are actively eating or drinking

The order is scheduled to end at 5 p.m. on Feb. 7.