SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake County Council Chair Laurie Stringham said she is inclined to vote to keep an indoor mask mandate in Salt Lake County, breaking a possible tie and swinging the vote in favor of the mandate, KSL learned exclusively on Wednesday afternoon.
This mandate is the subject of a vote that will be taken on Thursday by her Salt Lake County Council peers. Council members agreed to hold the emergency vote Thursday after three rounds of voting and discussion on Tuesday night.
Before the voting began Tuesday, Stringham was reportedly against calling a vote on the mask order. At that time, she felt there weren’t enough votes to overturn it. But after three separate votes to change the agenda of the council, the group decided to call for a vote to overturn the mask order.
Stringham told KSL NewsRadio that despite the vote to change the agenda, she is still inclined to vote to keep the mandate.
“If I for some reason found some magic cure, between now and then, I would like to have that,” Stringham told KSL NewsRadio reporter Lindsay Aerts, “but, I think at this point as it stands, it’s probably just going to stand.”
Stringham reiterated her concern that a mask mandate in Salt Lake County will keep first responders and healthcare workers safe.
“Are we going to be able to provide services that are essential, vital — police, fire, health care? If this were just about stopping the virus itself, I would vote it down.”
Stringham says the council is split four to four, making her vote the swing vote.
She says she will vote as a policymaker who needs to assure her county can function.
The vote by the Salt Lake County Council on whether to retain a mask mandate ordered by Salt Lake County Health is slated for Thursday at 4 p.m.
The novel coronavirus COVID-19 spreads from person to person, similar to the common cold and the flu. So, to prevent it from spreading:
Utah’s Coronavirus Information
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Utah Coronavirus Information Line – 1-800-456-7707
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Commonly asked questions, World Health Organization