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SALT LAKE CITY – Intermountain Healthcare, the region’s largest healthcare provider, announced on Friday that caregivers, patients and visitors will be required to continue wearing masks even after the mask’s mandate is lifted statewide April 10.
“We had a mask requirement in our hospitals, in our clinics long before any government mandate. We did it because the masks protect patients, they protect caregivers and they protect visitors, simply and simply, ”said Dr. Eddie Stenehjem, infectious disease physician at Intermountain Healthcare, on Friday.
He said the policy continued because “we believe it is our duty” to take precaution against the spread of COVID-19, especially among patients who are more vulnerable due to their medical conditions, but added that the level of risk was assessed on a weekly basis.
“We will take this away when we deem it to be safe for everyone involved. The reason we do this is out of caution. »Said Stenehjem.
The University of Utah Health also continues to require masks beyond April 10, spokeswoman Kathy Wilets said.
“Regardless of the state, county or city in effect, all patients, companions and staff should continue to wear an approved face mask (a well-secured paper or cloth mask covering the mouth and nose) when they enter U. and at any time within U. of the United States, ”she said in a statement.
Wilets said the University of Utah Health “is encouraged by the state’s increased COVID-19 vaccination efforts, as well as the recent decline in daily COVID-19 cases in Utah. However, data suggests that the risk of spreading COVID-19 is still a significant concern and that one of the best ways to protect yourself at all times is to wear masks.
Several grocery chains, including Harmons and Smith’s, have announced that employees and customers are to remain masked after the state’s mandate is lifted.
The 2021 legislature passed a bill setting an April 10 end date for the mask mandate put in place last December, along with other restrictions on COVID-19 as soon as the state receives 1.63 million doses of vaccine, enough for 70% of the population, as long as the number of cases and hospitalization rates for the virus remain low.
Gov. Spencer Cox said Thursday he didn’t see “much benefit” in the bill at all, but he negotiated with lawmakers who claimed to have a veto-proof majority to end the mask mandate immediately during the recent legislative session and fixed the problem. Date April 10.
He said he feared “losing respect for the Legislature and that’s not how I operate” if he vetoed the bill after reaching a deal with lawmakers. Cox has until next Thursday to sign, veto, or allow legislation passed in the last session to become law without his signature.
The governor had hoped to wait for the state to hit the 1.63 million vaccine dose mark before removing the mask’s mandate to ensure Utah was closer to herd immunity to COVID-19. However, it takes at least two weeks after the last dose of a vaccine before a person can be considered fully vaccinated against the virus.
Stenehjem said his advice is to continue wearing masks around others, especially indoors when it is not possible to socially distance yourself. This also applies to children, the doctor said, because they are not immune even though infection rates are lower and vaccines, at least until the fall, are not available for people of under 16.
“I can tell you that I’m going to wear a mask on April 11 and move on. People are going to have to make their own appeal on this, ”he said, adding that he expects many Utahns to continue to want to protect themselves and those around them. “Masks have become kind of a social norm at this point. People are comfortable with it.
Stenehjem said case rates may have fallen, but they are still high and more Utahns need to be vaccinated, citing the spread of more easily transmitted virus variants that have already forced shutdowns in Britain, in Italy and other countries, as well as those developing in California and other parts of the United States.
“I really think next month is a time to really continue to focus on the things that we’ve been doing and that we know are working. We know masks work. We know minimizing your contact works, ”the doctor said, urging Utahns to maintain this at least until the end of April.
At that time, “it’s nice outside. You can socialize outside. We have universal availability of vaccines. In a month we will be in a perfect position to really think, how can we really open up, ”he said. “We did this for a year. We can do it for another month. ”
The governor announced Thursday that all Utahns would be eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting next Wednesday, more than a week earlier than expected. He acknowledged, however, that it could still take weeks to get an appointment and said Utahns should be patient.
Currently, vaccines are available for Utahns 50 years of age and older, those with an expanded list of specified medical conditions, healthcare workers, first responders, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, and those with an expanded list of specified medical conditions. Kindergarten to Grade 12 teachers and school staff.
Utah’s latest COVID-19 figures include 17 more deaths
The Utah Department of Health reported 447 new cases of COVID-19 and 17 more deaths from the virus on Friday, including 12 that occurred before February 19. That brings the total number of coronavirus cases in the state to 380,787 and the death toll in Utah from the virus to 2,058.
A total of 1,111,185 doses of vaccine were administered in Utah, a daily increase of 31,146.
The seven-day moving average for positive tests is 474 per day, and 5,967 more Utahns have been tested for COVID-19 since Thursday. A total of 15,565 tests were administered. This places the seven-day moving average of the percent test positivity at 4.2% when all test results are included and at 8.3% when multiple tests performed by an individual in the past 90 days are excluded.
Currently, 176 people are hospitalized in Utah with COVID-19. The deaths reported on Friday are:
- A man from Cache County, over 85, residing in a long-term care facility.
- A woman from Cache County, aged 25 to 44, hospitalized at the time of her death.
- A Davis County man, aged 65 to 84, hospitalized.
- A Davis County man, 45-64, hospitalized.
- An Iron County man, 65-84, hospitalized.
- A man from Salt Lake County, aged 19 to 24, hospitalized.
- A man from Salt Lake County, over 85, residing in a long-term care facility.
- Three women from Salt Lake County, aged 65 to 84, all hospitalized.
- A man from Salt Lake County, aged 65 to 84, hospitalized.
- A man from Tooele County, over 85, hospitalized.
- A woman from Uintah County, 45-64, hospitalized.
- Two men from Washington County, aged 65 to 84, both hospitalized.
- A woman from Washington County, aged 65 to 84, hospitalized.
- A woman from Weber County, aged 65 to 84, hospitalized.
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