© (George Frey/Getty Images)With a mask sign on the door a teacher walks into Freedom Preparatory Academy as they begin to prepare to restart school after it was closed in March due to COVID-19
Utah will lift its mask mandate next month, becoming the latest state to do away with face covering requirements against experts' advice.
Gov. Spencer Cox is expected to sign a bill that will lift the statewide mask mandate on April 10. Jennifer Napier-Pearce, spokeswoman for Cox, confirmed that the decision was made after negotiations between Cox and the state legislature stopped an effort to end the measure immediately.
"Once it became clear that the legislature planned to end the mask mandate immediately, and with a veto proof majority, our administration worked with them to push the date back to get as many people vaccinated as possible," Napier-Pearce said in a statement.
Individual businesses will still be able to require people to wear masks and the mandate will continue even after April 10 in schools and for large gatherings.
In anticipation of the end of the mask mandate, Utah is planning to make the COVID-19 vaccine available to every adult in the state by April 1.
The vaccine is currently available to health care workers, long-term care facility residents and staff, education workers, adults 50 and older and people with underlying medical conditions.
Approximately 13% of Utah's population is fully vaccinated, according to the state health department. More than 573,520 people are partially vaccinated and more than 319,120 people are fully vaccinated.
The state has recorded more than 375,660 cases of COVID-19, and more than 1,990 people have died, according to state data.
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