Pandemic-weary Utahns have mixed feelings about the impending end of a statewide mask mandate on April 10.

For many, it’s a welcome relief. They believe the mandate is no longer necessary – or never was – to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 and that wearing a face covering should be a personal choice.

Others are wary, fearing there will be another coronavirus spike just as more and more people are getting vaccinated against the virus. Some say politics overrode science in the Utah Legislature’s approval of an “endgame” bill that lifts the mask mandate.

Lauren Simpson, policy director for the Alliance for a Better Utah, is among those who argue the end date is based on arbitrary data.

“We all want the pandemic to end and having a framework for how Utah gets back to normal post-COVID is a good idea, but choosing an arbitrary end date is unnecessary and risky,” Simpson, said in a written statement. “After a year of sacrifices and struggles, the last thing Utahns need is to risk a fourth wave because over-eager lawmakers are personally tired of the pandemic and pushed the state back to normalcy too soon.

“In spite of our difficulties and differences, we’ve held together for this long. We should be willing to go the last mile in order to finally defeat COVID once and for all.” 

Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, the bill’s sponsor, thinks the fears of a case surge are overblown.

“We are being really close to herd immunity,” Ray said. “The numbers have gone down. Quite honestly, most people aren’t wearing a mask anyway right now. They only wear them in the stores and stores are probably going to continue to require those.”

The Utah Department of Health reported on March 25 that the state had recorded 383,260 COVID-19 cases and 2,088 deaths from the virus. The number of people who had received at least one vaccine dose was 814,765. Vaccinations were opened up on March 24 to all Utahns who are 16 and older.

Mandates and metrics

House Bill 294, which was signed into law on March 24 by Gov. Spencer Cox, lifts the mask mandate on April 10 but still allows health officials to require masks in K-12 schools and in groups of 50 or more people when they can’t socially distance. Counties also can enact their own mask mandates under certain conditions.

Some lawmakers wanted to end the mandate immediately but Cox, who was critical of the measure, negotiated with them to get the April 10 date.

Under the new law, the mask mandate for large groups and other pandemic restrictions, including those issued by counties, also can end if Utah reaches three benchmarks — the state is allocated 1.633 million doses of vaccine by the federal government; the 14-day rate of new COVID cases is less than 191 per 100,000 people; and the seven-day average of cases in hospital intensive care units is 15 percent or less.

All pandemic public health orders will terminate on July 1, even if the benchmarks aren’t reached.

Ray said he was against the statewide mandate from the beginning and always thought counties should decide for themselves whether to require masks. The metrics back up the timing, he said.

“Looking at the numbers and just looking at it overall how things were going, we thought it was time to remove the state mandate and allow the counties to take up a mandate if they so feel like they need to,” he said. “People are saying that we’re not listening to science and that’s not true at all. We’re listening a lot to science and we’re looking at metrics.”

Sen. Derrin Owens, R-Fountain Green, said he sponsored the bill in the Senate in response to the wishes of his constituents, who have been calling for local control for months.

“If a county wants to stay in a mandate, that’s up to the county commissioners and the local health department who work to make that possible,” he said.

The April 10 end date gives health officials time to vaccinate as many people as possible and at the current rate of about 25,000 a day, Utah is on track to hit its benchmarks, according to Owens.

Rep. Suzanne Harrison, D-Draper, said she voted no on the bill “because it doesn’t make sense to pick an arbitrary date to declare an end to the pandemic.”

“Masks may be inconvenient and a little annoying, but these public health measures are one of the reasons we are heading in the right direction with regards to COVID,” Harrison, who is a physician, said. “I hope people will continue to wear masks to protect their neighbor until medical experts agree it is no longer needed.”

Intermountain Healthcare has announced it will continue to require masks in its hospitals and facilities after April 10. The reason, according to infectious diseases physician Eddie Stenehjem, is that “masks protect patients, they protect caregivers and they protect visitors, just plain and simple.”

“We know that masks work,” Stenehjem said on March 19 in an Intermountain Healthcare COVID update on Zoom and Facebook. “We’ve seen plenty of clinical trials, we’ve seen plenty of observational studies that show the importance of a mask in reducing transmission. I’m going to be wearing a mask April 11 and moving forward.”

People will have to make their own call on whether to wear a mask, he said, adding that at its present rate, the level of virus in the community is still high.

Split opinions

The Kane County Commission applauded the passage of the bill and announced earlier this month that mask wearing was no longer required in the county as of March 19.

“We’ve recognized that a state-wide, one-size-fits-all approach isn’t suitable and has even been detrimental,” the commission said on Facebook. “We also recognize the need to protect our freedoms.”

The commissioners also said they respect individuals’ choice to wear a mask or not.

“We trust the citizens and visitors of Kane County to measure risk and make decisions based on their own health and circumstances,” the Facebook posting says. “We trust the business owners to take care of their customers with appropriate and reasonable health guidelines.”

County residents appear split on the issue.

“Hallelujah!! This is GREAT news! Freedom to choose is how it should’ve always been! We are capable of assessing risk on our own,” one Facebook poster said.

Another asked, “What the hell difference is waiting a couple more weeks going to make? None. What the hell difference have masks made? None.”

But one post mentioned the loss of an uncle to COVID and said when a loved one dies from the virus, “it opens your eyes.” Someone else said the county’s decision to drop the mask mandate was a disservice to citizens and visitors.

“The arrogance being displayed here is deplorable,” another commenter said. “What makes these commissioners think they know better than the World Health Organization and the CDC?!”

Some local officials, including Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, have expressed concerns about the end of the state mandate. Both mayors are considering implementing a local mask mandate.

“We still need to exercise caution,” Mendenhall said at a March 19 news conference, where she and several business owners urged continued mask wearing. “Even though our COVID-19 numbers have dropped and are continuing to drop significantly over the last few months, mask wearing is still vital. We’re not done. I’m asking businesses in Salt Lake City to join us today in pledging to continue requiring masks in their establishment until our health care experts say it’s safe for us to remove them.”

Mendenhall praised Wilson’s enactment in 2020 of a mask mandate, which she said slowed the spread of the virus and saved lives.

The economics of masks

Don Willie, president of the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce, said the organization recognized in the early days of the pandemic there were different concerns about masks. Some individuals felt a requirement to wear a mask infringed on their constitutional rights, but others were focused on safety, he said.

“Many consumers wanted and expected businesses to have some sort of mask requirement even before the statewide mask mandate was put into place,” Willie said.

The chamber stayed focused on the economics of the situation and rolled out a Safe Southern Utah campaign, which encouraged businesses to follow five best practices for the safety of consumers and employees. Wearing masks and other personal protective equipment was one. (The others were observing social distancing; checking employees daily for COVID-19 symptoms; promoting healthy hygiene, including frequent handwashing; and cleaning surfaces frequently.)

“We make data-driven decisions,” Willie said. “We make decisions and advocate based on what we’re seeing as helpful and healthy to the economy.”

Willie thinks many businesses will cheer the end of the mask mandate and not require masks. But a good number might continue requiring them, either because they are part of a franchise or because they decide it will keep their customers safe, he said.

He pointed out that some businesses, including Harmons Grocery and Smith’s Food and Drug Store, are still going to require masks.

“That’s the individual right of that business. If that’s what they decide to do, then consumers can make the decision whether or not to shop there and support them,” Willie said. “If an individual doesn’t feel comfortable going into a restaurant that doesn’t require masks, then that’s a prerogative of that consumer. The market forces will truly drive those decisions for many of those businesses.”

Willie thinks the pandemic will create some permanent changes. He compares the situation to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, which led to tightened security measures at airports. Some of those procedures were eventually dropped but some still remain, he said.

“I think we’ll see mask wearing on airplanes and public transportation,” Willie said. “Whether or not it’s required, I think we’ll find people that are doing it because of personal choice.”

Other permanent post-pandemic carryovers could include voluntary measures, such as businesses putting Plexiglas shields at store checkouts and restaurants mandating that their cooks and servers wear masks, he said.

Now could be a good time for people to reconsider what steps they want to take for protection against COVID-19, Willie said. The number of new coronavirus cases in southern Utah is very low and more has been learned during the past year about how the virus is transmitted, he said.

“With that added knowledge and understanding, it allows us to take the precautions that make us feel comfortable and make those decisions for ourselves,” Willie said.