SALT LAKE CITY: Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson is not comfortable with the notion of leaving the state mask mandate for about a month.
Speaking to Dave and Dujanovic of KSL NewsRadio on Monday morning, Mayor Wilson explained that her concern is for teenagers, children and others who may not yet be vaccinated.
“If we were to live in old age right now or in an area that had mostly people over 70, we would be with that herd immunity in that environment,” he said. “It’s a very different story for the rest of us. It’s definitely not April 10, in my opinion.”
The comments come after a bill passed on the last day of the state legislature stipulates that the mandate of the state mask will expire on April 10th.
In addition, it allows to loosen other restrictions once several vaccine metrics, percentage of cases and ICU are met.
Leaving room for the “best judgment”
Wilson argues that April 10 is too early to remove the mandate. In his view, the state should wait for COVID-19 case rates to drop further before leaving the mask mandate.
“What we need is for these cases to continue to decline,” he said. “There will be the right time when we can take off masks.”
In his view, instead of rushing to take off masks in public, the next two months should be to rely on Utahns to make smart judgments.
“With our own personal interactions, with our friends and family, we can be smart,” Wilson said. “We can see who has been vaccinated (and) who hasn’t. If we have to protect someone, (we can) stay a little far.”
Gov. Spencer Cox announced Thursday that six Utah counties, including Salt Lake County, are in the “moderate” transmission phase of the virus. Counties in this phase have no collection restrictions, as long as individuals wear masks.