The Salt Lake Chamber, along with the signatories below, has issued the following statement calling upon state leaders to update health guidelines to combat the coronavirus to include the requirement to wear a face mask in public places when social distancing is not feasible:
“As business and community leaders, we express our heightened concern over increasing COVID-19 infection rates and decreasing hospital treatment capacity. We are equally concerned with the potential impacts to the state’s emerging economic recovery. Public health and economic health are inseparably connected, not competing alternatives, and both are required to sustain healthy and economically viable families, businesses and communities.
“We recognize the business community has a role in achieving this balance between the health and economic imperatives. To that end, the Salt Lake Chamber, along with local chambers and industry associations, launched the statewide Stay Safe to Stay Open campaign to promote the wearing of face masks in business environments, as well as to support businesses in following the health and safety guidelines set forth by the Utah Department of Health.
“We believe in particular circumstances that private sector efforts must be coupled with reasonable government regulation, especially for the purpose of protecting personal health and the rights of others. We see this every day in commerce such as not smoking in restaurants, using seatbelts in cars, and wearing hardhats in construction areas. And it is in that spirit that we call upon state leaders to update health guidelines for the yellow, orange and red risk levels, to include the requirement to wear a mask in public places when social distancing is not feasible.
“The Salt Lake Chamber and corporate signatories also support the #MaskUpUtah public awareness campaign through the Utah Hospital Association as an important way to communicate to the public at large the purpose of wearing a face mask. Fewer messages are more important at this time than that wearing a mask is about respect and caring for others.
“Additionally, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development has received funding from the state legislature for a consumer confidence campaign. We believe a key element of this campaign should include consumer health and safety best practices. We are hopeful these campaigns directed at business, consumers and the public will make a difference in protecting the public and the economy.
“Seldom in business or in life is the most effective solution also the easiest, but in the fight against the coronavirus that is exactly what wearing a mask means for the health and well-being of lives and livelihoods. We are concerned that without taking this step now, damage will be done to individual health and community economic well-being in the near future, serious consequences that our families, communities and the state cannot afford. To move forward safely, our businesses would rather comply with the requirement to wear face masks appropriately than to have to close our doors.”
SIGNATORIES
Arrow Moving & Storage
Ascension St Matthews Church
Big Shot Photo Group
BioUtah
Brigham City Museums
Cash Man Services, LC
CBRE
CCMC
CenturyLink
Christy Sports, LLC. & Leisure Living, DBA
City Creek Center – Taubman
Clever Octopus Inc
Clyde Companies
Colliers International
Comagine Health
Cooper Williams LLC
CRSA
Cuisine Unlimited Catering & Special Events
Daw Construction Group
Daybreak Communities
Deseret Management Corporation
Dominion Energy
Downtown Alliance
Draper Area Chamber of Commerce
Durham Jones & Pinegar, PC
EDCUtah
Epicenter
Exodus Healthcare Network, PLLC
Ferro Investments
Ford Audio-Video Systems, Inc.
Gaddis Investments
General Distributing Company
Global Access
Gold Cross Ambulance
Goldman Sachs
Gourmandise Group
GSBS Consulting
GTS Development, LLC
Hale Centre Theatre
Hale Center Foundation for the Arts & Education | Hale Center Theater Orem
Hand Candy Tattoo
Harmons Grocery
Harris Financial
Hearth and Hill
Imagine Ballet Theatre
Impact Utah
Industrious
Intermountain Healthcare
Intrepid
Ivory Homes
JAN-PRO of Utah
Jazz at the Station
Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute
Landmark Testing & Engineering
Larry H. Miller Group of Companies
LD Bowerman Investments LLC
Local First Utah
Lowe Property Group
LUX Catering and Events
Mark Miller Toyota
MarketShare, Inc
Merit Medical Systems, Inc.
Modern Display Service, Inc.
Mortenson
Music Theatre West
Natural History Museum of Utah
NEXT Ensemble
Nightingale College
Paper Wasp Llc
Penna Powers
PepsiCo
Plan-B Theatre Company
Preservation Utah
Psychofire
Regence BlueCross BlueShield
Rio Tinto Kennecott Copper
Rocky Mountain Power
Rowland Hall
Salt Lake Acting Company
Salt Lake Chamber
Salt Lake City Corp.
Salt Lake Community College
Salt Lake County
Salt Lake Film Society
Salt Lake Magazine
Seal Coat Supply, Inc.
Smith’s Food & Drug
South Valley Chamber
Squire & Company, PC
St. George Area Chamber of Commerce
St. George Children’s Museum
Staker Parson Materials and Construction a CRH Company
Steward Healthcare
Sundance Institute
Swire Coca-Cola USA
Team Nash
Thanksgiving Point Institute, Inc.
The Children’s Center
The Old House at Center and Main
The Work Activity Center
Titan Specialized Services, Inc
Torrey House Press
Tracy Aviary
United Way of Salt Lake
University of Utah
University of Utah Health Plans
University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics
Utah AFL-CIO
Utah Association of CPAs
Utah Beverage Association
Utah Clean Energy
Utah Cultural Alliance
Utah Food Industry Association
Utah Hospital Association
Utah Independent Agents (UIA)
Utah League of Cities and Towns
Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce
Utah Medical Association
Utah Nonprofits Association
Utah Rail Passengers Association
Utah Retail Merchants Association
Utah Symphony | Utah Opera
Utah System of Higher Education
Utah Tourism Industry Association
Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce
Vidal Consulting Group LLC.
Visit Salt Lake
Waterstone Financial Services
WCF Insurance
Western Nut Company
Westminster College
Willis Works Studio
Women’s Leadership Institute
Woodbury Corporation
World Trade Center Utah
WSP USA
YWCA UTAH
Zions Bank
