I wanted to share with you an exchange I had today on KSL’s Dave and Dujanovic show. I want people to know I’m big on staying in my lane and respecting others’ roles. Although that was not my only reason for vetoing a Provo mask mandate it was a significant one. Although these are not exact quotes, here’s the gist of the exchange between Deb and me on that topic.
Deb: In light of Provo and Orem being moved to Orange by the governor, and now a county-wide mask mandate imposed by the county health department, looking back on your veto of Provo’s mask mandate, do you feel you missed the mark?
Me: Not at all. One of the reasons I was against a Provo mandate—and I said this at the time—was because the County Health Department didn’t want cities doing their own mandates.
They didn’t want a patchwork of mandates. I’ve followed our County Health Department to the T, and the same goes with state guidance.
Now that the County Health Department has implemented a mask mandate county wide, they continue to have my support. As I’ve always said, the authorities on public health at the local level are county health departments. They are the ones with trained staff to make determinations on health-related issues.
People act like I’ve been going rogue when what I’ve done is stay right in line with our health authorities. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that the County Health Department has been in favor of any mask mandate. And again, they have my full support. They are the health authorities for our area.
Does the county think our hospitals or health service are in risk of being overwhelmed or are death rates on the rise? If so, I understand why they would make a big deal of recommend a mask mandate. Otherwise this is just panic porn. Don't buy into it.