SALT LAKE CITY – Governor Spencer Cox was optimistic and enthusiastic about Utah’s prospects for an end to the pandemic at the weekly COVID-19 news conference on Thursday. But the newly elected state leader said that while the future is bright, things could have gone better if the state had implemented a masking mandate earlier.
“Sometimes we get it right and sometimes we get it wrong,” he said. “We made other mistakes before, for not wearing masks, for not obliging them before, which could have helped and maybe saved some lives.”
Former governor Gary Herbert resisted implementing a statewide masquerade order for months during the pandemic and only relented after a massive spike in cases before Thanksgiving in November. At the time, Cox had just won the governor’s election and was still in his role as deputy governor, as well as head of the state coronavirus task force.
“In retrospect, we should and probably could have demanded that,” said Cox on Thursday.
Although the state did not have an official mask mandate until late fall, Herbert, Cox and other officials recommended the use of a face mask and produced 2 million masks for distribution to those in need.
“Many of us got it right on the issues of this pandemic and many of us got it wrong at different times,” Cox said on Thursday, emphasizing the balance officials face as new information comes to light.
In March 2020, facial coverage was not yet a political problem and health officials and agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asked residents not to use them.
The CDC’s guidance at the time advised against the use of facial coverings, saying that medical supplies needed to be preserved for hospital staff on the front lines and that the cover would do little to prevent spread. But in April 2020, since asymptomatic spread was better understood, the CDC updated its guidelines to advise all residents of the United States to use facial coverage.
“We learned a lot about masks,” said Cox. “We learned more about how masks were effective.”
Since the beginning of the response to the pandemic, several studies have shown data that support the use of masks is an effective way to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, which is spread through respiratory droplets.
Likewise, several models developed by experts and scientists predicted that COVID-19 cases in the country would peak significantly in March, before a decrease in cases was observed. In Utah, the number of cases and the rate of positivity have started to decline in recent weeks, as the number of vaccines continues to increase.
“It doesn’t mean they’re bad people, it doesn’t mean they’re bad scientists, it doesn’t mean they don’t know what they’re doing; it just means things have changed.” Cox said.
To date, a total of 660,444 doses of vaccine have been administered to Utahns, nearly doubling the total number of COVID-19 cases seen since the pandemic began by 369,433. A total of 1,890 Utahns died of COVID-19 and 14,597 were hospitalized, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The two-dose vaccines Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 are currently available for eligible Utahns in the state, with the availability of the Johnson and Johnson single dose vaccine scheduled for the next few days.
Altogether, Cox was extremely optimistic about the state’s future with the pandemic, saying that by summer he hopes to be unmasked at the July 4th parade. He predicted that by the end of April or early May, there will be enough doses of vaccine available for every adult in Utah who wants to receive one.
As long as there is low transmission after the majority vaccination, Cox believes that the masks will no longer be needed before expected. That prediction may change, and if it does, the governor said the state would adjust its response.
Despite the mistakes made by leaders in the past, Cox emphasized the importance of showing light at the end of the tunnel. The authorities do not always have the perfect answer and the prospect is 2020, he added.
“Sometimes we didn’t exactly get it right and (masks) was probably the one where we could have done it a little earlier,” said Cox.