SALT LAKE CITY – Governor Spencer Cox said on Thursday that he is optimistic about COVID-19 transmission trends in Utah, but is not willing to completely remove state guidelines for coronavirus, such as applying the state mask, until more Utahns are vaccinated.
The governor made his comments after being asked about increasing pressure to ease restrictions inside and outside the state. Cox said he understood the frustrations, but weighed them against the risks associated with reversing the course.
The seven-day average of new cases in the state dropped 78% between January 1 and Thursday. The seven-day average was 558 new cases on Thursday, which is the lowest statistic since last September. At the same time, Cox announced that the state is on track to open vaccine eligibility for all Utah adults by April.
“We are in a very, very, very good situation. I would hate to do something that would slow us down when we are so close, but then again, I don’t want those restrictions in place one day more than is absolutely necessary,” he said.
The pressure Cox is facing on the state’s COVID-19 restrictions begins at the Utah State Capitol. For example, the state House of Representatives passed a “final” pandemic bill that would suspend the state’s mask mandate and other pandemic-related guidelines issued by the state and the Utah Department of Health. It is still waiting for Senate approval. The Senate passed SB195, which limits powers during public health emergencies.
Cox argued on Thursday that the bills may not even be necessary, especially since most of the state’s counties are no longer in “high” broadcast locations. He added that the data indicates that the remaining 11 counties in that category could fall in the coming weeks.
Once a county reaches the “moderate” level of transmission, the mask’s mandate remains in effect, but there is no public meeting limit. This means that sports facilities and theaters can have side-by-side seating without concession if people are wearing masks.
The governor said there were “a lot of good things” in the project, but questioned the timing. So he said he would examine the final bill on his desk before making the decision to sign it or veto it, in case the Senate will approve it.
“I hate that we are having fights again now. We are so close to the end of this,” said Cox. “We are all so close. The end is in sight.”
Then there is the pressure outside the state. Mississippi and Texas were in the news earlier this week, when their governors announced that they were lifting restrictions on coronavirus, including crowd sizes and mask recommendations. The Texas order takes effect next week.
“Removing state mandates does not eliminate personal responsibility; only now state mandates are no longer needed,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Tuesday.
But Cox also called for caution about what other states have decided. He dismissed comments from external states as words of “people who want to run for president”, doing “things you can do to get attention”. Cox added that he did not know whether these measures would lead to spikes in new cases, noting that it is still difficult to project when the exact trends will occur after a year of dealing with the coronavirus.
Instead, the governor narrowed his attention to what he and his team could do about it – vaccines.
“I know that what we have are vaccines, and what I do know is that these vaccines work. And what I do know is that if we vaccinate more people, people will not die and we will not have to wear masks at all,” he said. “That’s why I’m really excited, and the sooner we get there, the better.”
Cox added that he believes Utah has found a balance that allows the state to keep many aspects of the economy open while mitigating COVID-19 deaths.
He pointed out that the number of deaths per capita in Utah due to COVID-19 is much lower than most states, including Texas. That is why we have sometimes had less restrictions than most states in the USA.
“I think we are doing it right … We have not been perfect. We have done a great job, but yes, we are going to feel pressure,” said Cox. “Everyone will feel pressured to open up quickly.”
While this is the end of the game he wants, it is something he said can only happen when enough Utahns have been vaccinated.
“We are on this boat and trying to get to the shore. And now we are in a place where we can see the shore. And if you are a healthy swimmer, you can jump and do it but we have some unhealthy swimmers,” said Cox, giving an analogy by the Utah Department of Health executive director, Rich Saunders. “We would really like to vaccinate them. This is very important.”
Cox also defended the masks as “the least intrusive measure” that a state can take, in terms of keeping aspects of the economy open.
Meanwhile, public health officials were more nervous about out-of-state decisions. Dr. Angela Dunn, a state epidemiologist, said public health experts were concerned when other states made decisions that could lead to an increase in new cases in places outside those states.
It is important to note that local and state tourism experts named Texas as one of the top places from which people outside Utah were coming to visit Utah’s state and national parks last year.
“As we know, this virus does not respect borders – even international borders,” said Dunn. “We are as safe as our weakest state. So if there is spread in Texas or elsewhere, it will certainly put Utahns at greater risk of spread.”
She added that this is why it is important for Utahns to continue working to ensure that new cases of COVID-19 remain low, which means continuing to wear masks in public and moving away physically when possible.
Dunn also said that it is important for Utahns to be vaccinated when they have the opportunity. This is especially true with the possibility that new variants of the coronavirus are introduced that are more likely to spread more quickly.