BLANDING, Utah — Since at least May, the owners of Yaks Cafe in Blanding have pushed back on public health experts' recommendations that people wear masks in public to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, according to a report from The Salt Lake Tribune.
Instead, the owners have argued, when customers come inside a restaurant wearing masks and then take them off to eat, they risk leaving more pathogens on the table surface than if they’d entered the restaurant unmasked.
A July Facebook post from the restaurant directly stated that they would not allow masks or gloves "to be worn or brought inside our cafe."
San Juan County, where Yaks is located, has had more per capita COVID-19 cases than anywhere else in Utah since the pandemic began in March, and it remains a “high area of transmission,” according to state health guidance levels, which means masks are required for both employees and patrons entering all indoor public settings.
The San Juan Public Health Department told the Tribune that they were "in discussions with the county attorney about what we feel would be the best course of action."
Click here to read the full Tribune report.
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