Dr. Dunn Recommends Mask Mandate For Salt Lake Co. Students Under 12
Aug 10, 2021, 5:44 PM | Updated: 11:10 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — Dr. Angela Dunn, executive director of the Salt Lake County Health Department, has declared an intent to issue a mask mandate in Salt Lake County schools for children 12 years and younger.
The announcement was made during a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
“The best way that I can articulate the gravity of this situation, and what I see as the best way forward for Salt Lake County, and to keep our kids safe and in-person learning, is to officially notify Mayor Wilson of my intent to issue a mask order for school children under the age of 12 years in Salt Lake County,” said Dunn.
Under S.B. 195, the law passed at the Utah State Legislature earlier in the year, a health department must give 24 hours notice to the top executive, which in this case is Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson.
Wilson said she received notice from Dunn earlier in the day Tuesday that she would be requesting the “order of constraint” for consideration.
“I am here to announce today that I support her decision and I will not be terminating that request,” said Wilson.
Dunn’s formal request will be filed Wednesday afternoon, according to Wilson, which means the decision will be in the hands of the County Council.
It’s possible there could be an expedited meeting for the Council to deal with this before the end of the week.
The order only applies for indoor settings.
Dunn said she’s worried about the children who are too young to be vaccinated against COVID-19, so she wants to keep them as safe as possible.
“We all need to do everything we can do to keep this virus under control,” said Wilson. “I’m concerned about school kids. I’m concerned that they stay in school and we know that masks work, but I’m also concerned about the future of our community, and we need to put COVID-19 behind us.”
