As coronavirus cases in Utah continue to rise, Governor Herbert pleads with Utahns to wear masks and social distance. However Governor Herbert has decided to not make masks mandatory.
“Here's the opportunity for us, the people, to control our destiny without having the government come in and mandate. And so I'm going to try that first and we'll see what happens,” said Gov. Gary Herbert.
In a press conference on Thursday, Herbert announced he will not be mandating masks in the state because he believes in the goodwill and compassion of Utahns. He hopes that by working together, the numbers of coronavirus cases decrease. When it comes to the increase in cases, he believes this is because people are becoming less cautious as restrictions decrease.
“For example, we quit wearing masks, at least in the volume that we needed to. And yet, we probably should have been wearing masks more often, because now we're interacting with our family and friends and neighbors in a more social activity as we've loosened the restrictions, and yet we should have in fact, maybe tightened the requirements and demands,” said Herbert.
State Epidemiologist, Dr. Angela Dunn said it is too early to tell if mask mandates in some areas of the state have contributed to a decrease in cases because of the lag in the data.
As schools prepare plans for reopening in the fall, Governor Herbert has made masks mandatory for K-12.
Many business owners also urge Utahns to wear masks, because they fear increasing cases may result in having to go back to orange or red risk restrictions.
