Gary Herbert
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert delivers his 11th and final State of the State address in the Utah House Chambers, at the Utah Sate Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020.
Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP
  • Utah Gov. Gary Herbert announced a state of emergency that went into effect Monday afternoon due to an uptick of coronavirus cases, according to the Washington Post. 
  • “I am declaring a new state of emergency to address hospital overcrowding and to protect intensive care unit capacity,” Gov. Herbert said in the video posted on Twitter just before midnight on Sunday. 
  • Herbert also issued a mask mandate and called for the halting of school activities until the restrictions are lifted on November 23, according to The Washington Post citing a news release by Herbert and the Department of Health. 
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert announced a state of emergency in a video to residents on Sunday due to coronavirus-related hospital congestion, The Washington Post reported.

“I am declaring a new state of emergency to address hospital overcrowding and to protect intensive care unit capacity,” Gov. Herbert said in the video posted on Twitter just before midnight. 

As of Sunday, Utah has had 6,084 hospitalizations, 659 deaths, and 132,621 total cases linked to COVID-19, according to the state’s Department of Health.

Positive coronavirus cases in Utah have trended upwards and reached an average of about 20% new cases a day over a seven day period Sunday, according to KSL.com.  The hospitalizations in the intensive care units in the state are at an estimated 78%, according to the report. 

In addition to the state of emergency, Gov. Herbert issued a mask mandate and cited health experts who said that wearing a mask is an effective way to curb the spread of the virus. 

"Because scientists and medical experts overwhelmingly recommend masks as an effective way to limit the spread of COVID-19, I am placing the entire state of Utah under a mask mandate until further notice," Gov. Herbert said. Businesses are also required to follow the mandate with their employees and consumers and will face fines if they violate the order. 

The mandate comes months after Herbert previously said that face masks usage was a  "divisive issue" and opted not to mandate masks when cases surged in June. 

Herbert is also prohibiting residents from participating in "casual social gatherings with individuals other than those in their immediate household for the next two weeks." Those who do not comply with the new guidelines could face a fine of up to $10,000 per event, he said. 

According to a news release per The Post, the restrictions are set to end on November 23. 

Herbert also said that student sports and activities — "with the exception of high school playoff and championship games and also intercollegiate sports" — are also postponed. 

Anthony Fauci, the nation's top disease expert and member of the coronavirus White House task force warned about the surge of cases and said Americans are "in for a whole lot of hurt" in an interview with the Washington Post late last month, Business Insider's Kelsey Vlamis reported. 

"It's not a good situation," he told The Post. "All the stars are aligned in the wrong place as you go into the fall and winter season, with people congregating at home indoors. You could not possibly be positioned more poorly."

Based on data from John Hopkins University, the United States surpassed 10 million coronavirus cases on Monday. 

 

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