Salt Lake and Summit Counties Issue Indoor Mask Mandates

January 7, 2022

Salt Lake County

Today, Salt Lake County Health Department Executive Director Dr. Angela C. Dunn issued a public health order requiring people in Salt Lake County, regardless of vaccination status or past COVID-19 infection, to wear well-fitting masks when indoors (or queueing outdoors) in public. For optimal protection, Dr. Dunn recommends wearing respirators, such as KN95s, instead of cloth masks, if possible.

The order, #2022-01, is in response to the record-breaking surge of the Omicron COVID-19 variant; it takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, January 8, 2022, and is currently planned to be in force until 5 p.m. on Monday, February 7, 2022. 

“We desperately need to use every tool available to ensure our hospitals can continue providing excellent healthcare through this surge,” said Dr. Dunn. “We also need to ensure that our essential services have the staff necessary to operate—from law enforcement, to plow drivers, to schoolteachers. It is my obligation as health officer to take the action I believe has the best chance to prevent unnecessary suffering throughout our community.”

Exemptions to the order include:

  • Individuals under two years of age and those with medical conditions, impairments or disabilities that prevent wearing a mask.
  • Individuals engaging in work where they are alone and individuals for whom wearing a mask would create a risk to the individual related to their work as determined by local, state or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines.
  • Individuals seated at a restaurant or other food/beverage establishment while they are actively eating or drinking.

As with Salt Lake County mask orders issued earlier in the pandemic, education about the purpose of the order and supplying a mask to individuals in violation will be the primary method of enforcement.

The purpose of this order is to protect public health and our critical industries’ staffing, not to hold someone criminally liable. Health officials are asking businesses and operators of other public spaces to enforce this order as they do any other social-behavioral expectations that exist for their establishment.

The complete order will be available at SaltLakeHealth.org by 3:00 p.m. today. 

Summit County

Beginning January 7, 2022, all individuals living within or visiting Summit County, Utah, regardless of vaccination status, must wear face-coverings while inside public indoor facilities or waiting in lines. Public Health Order 2022-01 was enacted by Summit County Manager Tom Fisher and Summit County Health Officer Dr. Phil Bondurant in response to the record-breaking surge of the Omicron COVID-19 variant both in Summit County and across the state. This Order begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, January 7, 2022 and is currently in effect until 5 p.m. on February 21, 2022.

“This was not an easy decision and certainly not an action we wanted to take at this stage of the pandemic,” Dr. Bondurant said. “I am especially concerned for our frontline workers, our children and staff in schools and the current strain on our healthcare system. Masks combined with vaccines are critical tools to help us weather this surge and protect our critical services.”

Exemptions include:

  • Individuals under two years of age, those with medical conditions, impairments, or disabilities that prevent wearing a face-covering.
  • Individuals engaging in work where they are alone in an indoor establishment or facility, individuals for whom wearing a face-covering would create a risk to the individual related to their work as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines.
  • Individuals seated at a restaurant or other food/beverage establishment while they are eating or drinking.
  • The complete Order and a full list of exemptions can be found at .

“Along with the health of our residents, workers and visitors, preserving and maintaining critical infrastructure services in our county is of the highest priority,” County Manager Tom Fisher said. “As it stands, the omicron surge poses a significant threat to our ability to provide critical services, such as emergency response, snow removal, solid waste collection, medical services, and others. This health order helps protect those front-line workers and the important services they provide this community.”

Violations of the Order are punishable as infractions; however, the purpose of the Order is to protect individuals’ health and not to hold them criminally liable. Discretion will be used in the citing and prosecution of violations of the Order. Educating and supplying a mask to those in violation will be a priority of enforcement.