Questions and Answers about the new Salt Lake County facial mask requirement

“I am one of those who believes in the best intentions of our public, but there is a reason why we have seatbelt laws: it saves lives,” he said. “There is a reason why we have regulations. [This] It is temporary, but it will move the needle. “

Health experts have encouraged facial coatings as a way to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, especially to protect vulnerable populations. Evidence shows that coatings can prevent drops from the mouth or nose from traveling beyond an infected person or someone who has the virus but has no symptoms. But the issue has become divisive, and some refuse to wear masks as a political statement.

Wilson signed the new rules Friday afternoon, the same day the Summit County Council approved his order during a special meeting. The rules take effect in both counties on Saturday. Here is a summary of where facial coatings will be required, how the regulations will be enforced, and to whom they apply:

A: Face masks will be mandatory at all indoor and outdoor public gatherings and inside all retail stores and other businesses that are open to the public in Salt Lake County, including in bars and restaurants until diners are seated.

“Essentially, if you are in an environment where social distancing is not easy to achieve, you should cover your face,” Salt Lake County Health Department spokesman Nicholas Rupp said in an interview on Friday.

Private workplaces where physical distance cannot be maintained will also have to comply with the rules for wearing masks, he said.

The requirement does not apply in circumstances that are not “reasonably conducive” to wearing a face covering, Rupp noted, “such as while swimming or engaging in strenuous physical activity in a crowded gym.”

“We don’t necessarily recommend being in a crowded gym,” he added, “but they are open.”

Facial coatings will also not be mandatory in parks and trails where social distancing is possible.

The Summit County order has similar guidelines, though the council said Friday that masks would be required in fitness classes.

However, the order in Summit County does not appear to apply equally to all private companies. The order states that compliance in the workplace is for companies that interact with any member of the public, or those that work in any space visited by the public or that prepares or packages food for sale or distribution.

A: Yes, a decision Rupp said was made “in concert with various interfaith leaders.”

“All of the church leadership we spoke to from a variety of denominations supported the need to cover their faces when they were unable to socially distance themselves within their buildings and services,” he said.

Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Utah’s predominant faith, have promised to heed all guidelines set by public officials and health care authorities.

In temples of faith, where members perform sacred rites and have been slowly reopening to limited services, the church has insisted that “all government and public health directives be observed,” including “the use of safety equipment. like masks. ” “

A: In conjunction with the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the county will not require facial covers for children under the age of 2 years. Rupp said the county also understands that parents may find it difficult to require that older children constantly wear a face covering. .

“If your 3-year-old son covers his face, you are not in trouble; This is not how this works, “he said. “We ask that you do your best, whatever it is that day.”

The Summit County order lists the same exceptions.

A: The rules do not apply to outdoor settings where social distance is easily maintained, to artists “involved in their craft,” or to people with health conditions exacerbated by a facial covering, such as asthma, COPD, or other health-related conditions. breathing, Rupp explained. .

The county depends on the people who have these afflictions to use the “honor system.”

“We don’t want to suggest or ask people to visit a doctor and get a note for something like this,” he said. “We don’t need to be creating trouble for our healthcare providers at this time. It is not about that “.

The Summit County order states specific exceptions for the hearing impaired, or those who communicate with someone where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication, as well as for those who are obtaining a service related to the nose or face.

A: County officials will first rely on education before issuing citations, Rupp said, adding that he does not anticipate that the order will apply much to people.

“I hope most of the law enforcement happens interpersonally, like when your grandma won’t let you visit her,” she said, or your neighbor won’t come to you at the grocery store, “if you’re not wearing a face. cover. “

Violation of a public health order can be charged as a class B misdemeanor, but Rupp said the county wants the rules to be “enforced by education, not by subpoena or prosecution.”

Police generally do not have the capacity to enforce health regulations and the county has asked them not to subpoena people who do not meet the requirement. But the health department requests that first responders provide a “friendly verbal reminder” when they see people without coverage.

The health department is also asking clients who see lax enforcement of the rules in public companies to politely request that they meet coverage requirements, Rupp said. If that is not effective, he said, residents can report a nonconforming business through normal channels.

These include an online reporting form at slco.org/health/report-a-problem, as well as a public reporting line at 385-468-8888, which is staffed Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm

In Summit County, the sheriff and police chiefs have been instructed to ensure compliance and enforce the order, according to their language.

“Violations of this Order will be punishable as an infraction,” the proposed order reads. However, the purpose of this Order is to protect the health of people and not hold them criminally responsible. Discretion will be used to cite and prosecute violations of this Order. “

A: The face mask rules in Salt Lake County will take effect on Saturday and will remain in effect until July 3, the date the governor’s executive order expires allowing the county’s requirements. A spokesman for the governor’s office said Friday that the order will run until July 10 and that the county will run simultaneously.

After that point, the county could work with the state health department to request stricter guidelines if leaders there see a need to extend the requirements.

The Summit County order takes effect on Saturday and will remain in effect until September 1 “or until it is extended, terminated, replaced, or modified in writing.” The county will re-evaluate the request in two weeks.

A: No Rupp says the liners don’t have to be professionally made or take the form of a mask to fulfill the request.

“It can be a scarf; It can be a T-shirt cut over the nose and mouth at the store if you choose not to tie it. It is about providing a barrier to small respiratory drops from the nose and mouth, ”she said. “Anything that does that will protect those around you from your secretions and can meet this requirement.”

A: Yes. And that’s why the county’s goal is to facilitate a broader cultural shift that will remain in effect long after the rules expire.

“We don’t want it to be a yo-yo where we see cases increase, we require something and then they fall again and then a couple of weeks later they rise again because we relaxed,” Rupp said. “That is not efficient at all.”

Rupp said his hope is that the healthcare order can create a “shift in cultural expectations about what is publicly educated and what is common decency during COVID.”

“And it could really be several months before we have a very effective vaccine or proven treatment,” he said. “We may need to use facial covers quite consistently” to effectively slow the spread of the virus.