As the masks became a flashpoint during the coronavirus, Cox urged people to “respect” their “peers” when restrictions eased.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Governor Spencer Cox provides updates on the ongoing pandemic, as his words are interpreted for the hearing impaired, during a news conference in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 11, 2021.
With Utah’s state mask mandate ending on April 10, Governor Spencer Cox urged state residents to “act with respect to their fellowmen” and told those who do not want to wear masks that they are “not an idiot” if a company maintain their restrictions.
“Don’t yell at the clerk; don’t yell at the store manager, ”he said during a news conference on Thursday. “Don’t make a fool of yourself because you don’t want to wear masks.”
“This is not a free service for everyone,” added Cox later. “We live in society. We must worry about each other. And if you don’t care about other people, then don’t go to places where other people are. “
He asked the Utahns to consider their level of risk and said that those who have not been fully vaccinated when the mask’s term expires should consider continuing to wear the mask or not leaving. And he urged people who may feel that a business is not doing enough to combat the spread of the coronavirus to exercise patience as well.
[Read more: How the governor and lawmakers settled on April 10 to lift the statewide mask mandate]
“If you go into a restaurant and a table is closer to yours than maybe what you think [it should be], don’t yell at the waitress and tell her that you want people six meters away from you, ”he said. “If you don’t feel comfortable going out and eating at a restaurant because you’re at risk, buy food to go.”
The new governor said he recognized that the masks have been a controversial issue. But he said that those who do not want to wear a mask should not make fun of people who continue to wear it, and those who wear it should not “stack” people who do not wear it.
Cox said on Thursday that he does not “love the bill” that the state legislature recently approved that will end the term of the state mask early next month. He said he urged legislative leaders to give the state more time to vaccinate people before suspending it.
“We told them, look, every day we get 25,000, at least, new people are vaccinated and are approaching that immunity and that herd immunity that we’re working for, so let’s take as many days as you can give us,” he said. “We finished on April 10th.”
Cox indicated that he will sign the bill and said that he anticipates that the COVID-19 vaccines will be available to all adults in Utah by April 1.
The governor emphasized at his weekly COVID press conference on Thursday that the mask’s term will not end entirely next month and that people will still be forced to wear masks in schools and in large meetings with 50 or more people. Companies can also continue to demand masks.
But some local businesspeople have already raised concerns that the end of the mask’s mandate will lead to conflicts with their customers starting next month.
Matt Caputo, the CEO of Caputo’s Deli, said in a recent video posted on social media that the mask’s mandate has eased tensions with some customers in his business. And he asked the governor to veto the bill that ended it, although lawmakers could then vote to overturn that veto.
Some Utahns and companies want essential workers, or people who cannot do their work at home, to be vaccinated before the mask’s term ends. But Cox said on Thursday that these workers will not receive any special vaccine qualifications and that vaccines will be opened to them at the same time as the general public.
“We are so close to the end,” emphasized Cox. “We are distributing vaccines as much as possible. Please be kind to each other. Please be patient with each other. And we’re going to show people how Utah is an amazing place to live. “