SALT LAKE CITY—Republican Gov. Gary Herbert declared a state of emergency in Utah from Sunday and ordered a statewide mask mandate in an attempt to stem a record-breaking surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations that threaten to overwhelm hospitals. Herbert and the Utah Department of Health issued executive and public health orders requiring residents to wear face coverings in public, at work, and when they are within six feet (two meters) of people who don’t live in their households.
Herbert, who has repeatedly resisted imposing a statewide lockdown, said that the time to debate masks had passed and insisted his orders won’t shut down the economy.
