SALT LAKE CITY — Officials in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County announced Friday that fully vaccinated people can go without masks in city and county-owned facilities.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall amended the executive order she issued earlier in the week.
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The announcements came a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its recommendations for vaccinated individuals, saying they would no longer need to wear a mask in most indoor locations.
On Tuesday, Mendenhall signed the order that required masks to be worn in all city facilities. The order came despite Utah's statewide mask mandate having ended earlier this month.
“Yesterday's CDC announcement that vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks is long awaited news for many," said Mendenhall.
City employees who are fully vaccinated will still be encouraged to wear masks in public spaces and when they are unable to socially distance from others.
In an afternoon briefing where the new county direction was announced, Mayor Jenny Wilson spoke to all residents, those vaccinated and those who are not, about how to proceed moving forward.
"We have to have respect and concern and honor in this community, one person to the next," said Wilson.
The mayors' decisions only cover the government facilities they oversee. Local businesses and religious and community centers can continue to enforce mask restrictions if they choose.
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While happy about the end of mask requirements in the county, Wilson issued a playful warning to residents used to the mask lifestyle over the past year.
"My women friends, lady friends, you're going to need to pull out the lipstick you haven't been wearing for the past year," said Wilson. "And to my gentlemen friends, if you're growing a goatee under the mask and it's going a little gray, careful, because we're all going to notice soon."
