SALT LAKE CITY – A bill to define the “end of the game” for the Utah COVID-19 pandemic is being referred to the Utah House of Representatives in full.
Congressman Paul Ray’s HB294 was endorsed by the House Government Operations Committee in a 7-3 vote on Monday, despite concerns from health officials – including the state’s Utah Department of Health itself.
“What we’re looking for is the end of the game,” said Ray, R-Clearfield. “How do we get out of the pandemic? How do we declare that these things are over? “
Ray is running HB294 to set these guidelines for when Utah’s COVID-19 restrictions – including mask mandates, business restrictions and social detachment requirements – end.
“So what this project is proposing is, basically, at what point do we say, ‘The emergency order remains because we need it for vaccines … but we get rid of the restrictions that come with it,'” said Ray.
Ray’s project has what he called a “checklist” of metrics that the state of Utah would need to achieve to qualify – many of which the state is close to or already qualified for.
In a version of the bill endorsed by the House committee on Monday, SB294 would declare an end to the Utah pandemic when the state reaches a 14-day case rate of less than 101 per 100,000 people, or less than 2,900 cases. . On Monday, the 14-day Utah case rate was around 654, Ray said, “so we are well below 2,900.”
The bill would also require less than 15% of the use of COVID-19 from hospital beds in the intensive care unit. “As of today, we are at about 13%,” said Ray.
Finally, the bill would require that at least 1.5 million first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine be allocated to the state. As of Monday, “we are close to 900,000 right now,” said Ray.
“Once we reach those parameters, the restrictions will disappear,” he said.
Ray said he is still negotiating about what to do about school mask mandates, but is “strongly inclined to” an amendment to the House floor to allow local school districts to choose not to comply with the mask mandate.
Ray’s bill drew a mix of public reaction, from those against mask orders and government control, to those concerned that the bill would end Utah’s COVID-19 restrictions too soon. Several times, lawmakers asked a handful of people who came in person to support the bill to put on their masks.
“In America, we must allow people to govern themselves and decide which risks they want to take and which risks they do not want to take, because there are no laws that we can pass to save everyone from illness and death,” said DaLane England, who weighed in. virtually.
Sara McArthur Pierce, who was not wearing a mask but a plastic face shield, cleared her throat as she sat down at the microphone.
“Excuse me. It is the time for allergies, not COVID, I can assure you,” said McArthur Pierce before expressing concern “about the abuse of power we are witnessing in relation to the extension of a state of emergency.”
Christy Cushing, representing the Utah Public Health Association, asked lawmakers to oppose the bill, pointing out scientific data and measures.
“The past year has shown us how public health is interconnected with the economy and how our choices and decisions correlate directly with daily and weekly case counts and positive trends,” said Cushing. “My concern is that politics should be less about what the Utahns can and cannot do about their own vaccination status … but more about the safety of our families, our neighbors, grocery store clerks, delivery drivers who they may still be vulnerable to the virus. “
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson, who said she was speaking in person and not on behalf of the Education Council, asked lawmakers to oppose the bill. She called the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic almost a year ago “traumatic” and “something I have never faced in my decades as an educator”.
“So I took on the mission of ensuring that this year our students could go back to school, so that they could do it safely,” she said. “I am concerned with the possibility of undoing the great work that has been done with a focus on masking, hygiene and all the health protocols that we have implemented.
“We have followed science, data, and I beg this committee to think about crossing the finish line,” said Dickson.
House minority assistant Whip Jennifer Dailey-Provost of D-Salt Lake City asked Ray that “science is being designed to make these decisions” outlined in the bill.
Ray said the measures were negotiated using metrics provided by the Utah Department of Health. “Now we have changed the numbers,” he said, noting that the department first requested 6% for the use of ICU beds, while Ray proposed 20%. The 15% figure was the middle ground. As for vaccination counts, Ray said the health department proposed 1.63 million, while he proposed 1 million. The compromise Ray is proposing is 1.5 million vaccinations.
Utah Department of Health Executive Director Rich Saunders still had doubts about Ray’s bill.
“One of the things that this bill does not address is big events, meetings in big arenas and big places, where masses of people come together,” noted Saunders.
Saunders also said that the health department recommended a vaccination limit of 1.63 million because it was based on about 70% of the state’s adult population, a number the state is aiming for to obtain collective immunity. Saunders said the difference between 1.63 million vaccinees and 1.5 million vaccinees “would probably be worth the wait” because it would only mean the difference of about two to three weeks.
“Getting back too early and allowing these big meetings to happen – with seats side by side and fully packed – is a public health concern,” said Saunders.
Saunders said that Ray’s bill poses a good question – at what point should decisions be made again at the local level?
“We are in favor of that at some point,” said Saunders. “Is it now? Is it later? I don’t know. But it might be a good time to do that, since we have vaccines up and we are doing really well with them.”
Ultimately, the House committee voted to endorse the project.
“I think we are all looking forward to getting rid of the masks. I already planned a mask-burning party at my house, “said Deputy Cory Maloy, R-Lehi, although he added:” We won’t do it until it’s okay. ”
The House committee also voted to pave the way for another bill – one that was negotiated closely with Governor Spencer Cox and his team to limit the governor’s emergency powers and give the Utah Legislature more control over public health orders.
The SB195, sponsored by Senate majority leader Evan Vickers, stems from the power struggle that persisted between Governor Gary Herbert and the Legislature during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last summer, lawmakers refused to extend Herbert’s pandemic emergency order, prompting the governor to issue new emergency orders each time they expired in order to keep them in place.
Vickers’ bill would limit the duration of a public health order to 30 days. It would also only allow the legislature to extend or terminate an order and give lawmakers the power to end an emergency before that 30-day period. It would also prohibit the governor or the health department from declaring a new emergency for the same problem, unless there are demanding circumstances such as a “significant change” after expiration that “substantially increases the threat to public health or safety,” according to the law project.
Cox told reporters last week that his team was still working on some adjustments to the bill and were “very close” to reaching an agreed version.
The bill now goes to one of its last legislative obstacles: the plenary of the Chamber.