Most statewide public health rules about COVID-19 are lifted, now that the “endgame” goals defined by state lawmakers for the pandemic in Utah have been reached.
But the Utah Department of Health on Tuesday issued a new public health order, as the new law allowed, to continue requiring face masks in schools and routine testing of students involved in sports and other extracurricular activities.
The order covering schools now stands as the only instance where the state government is telling Utahns what to do — with the force of law, rather than as advice — to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said UDOH’s declaration also means the citywide mask order she issued in April — after the new law also eliminated the statewide mask mandate — is unenforceable.
