Bill signed into law means Utah’s mask mandate ends April 10th

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed the “pandemic end game” bill on Wednesday, which will, in part, end the mask mandate in Utah on April 10th, 2021.

It will also place a deadline on some business restrictions and physical distancing requirements.

Bill to end mask mandate signed

HB294  will “terminate emergency powers and certain public health orders related to COVID-19 upon reaching certain thresholds of positivity rates, vaccination, and other criteria.”

HB294 outlines what needs to happen to lift the state of Utah’s COVID-19 restrictions, including mask mandates, business restrictions and social distancing requirements.

According to the Deseret News, the bill provides a “checklist of metrics” the state of Utah needs to reach in order to, effectively, end the pandemic. 

A partial list of the metrics listed in the bill include:

• If the state of Utah reaches a 14-day COVID-19 case rate less than 191 per 100,000 people;
• when the statewide 7-day average of COVID-19 ICU bed utilization is less than 15%; and
• when the state has been allocated 1.63 million first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Deseret News reports that the bill eliminates all coronavirus restrictions no later than July, once Utah has received enough vaccine doses for 70% of the population.

Counties can still make certain decisions

The bill signed into law by Gov. Cox today allows county lawmakers to seek new mask mandates and lets private businesses mandate masks in their facilities.  

Today, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said the current recommendation is to wear a mask until herd immunity is achieved. But she is uncertain about whether it will be a requirement.

She says the county is in a “wait and see” mode right now.