A recent survey by the Park City Chamber/Bureau found that out of 400 local businesses, almost 70% are in favor of extending mask mandates in the city and county.
The survey was conducted over the course of last week and found that 68% of local businesses believe the mask mandates in place since last summer should continue through at least May.
Additionally, 58% of respondents said city and county governments should not follow the state when it rescinds its mask mandate on April 10th.
The survey also found that 72% of business owners will continue to require masks in their places of business regardless of any government mandates.
The results and participation exceeded expectations, said Park City Chamber/Bureau CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff.
“They really want to protect their employees and, actually, more than 70% of them said that they will continue the mask mandate regardless of the state law or the county law, which was really impressive,” said Wesselhoff.
Wesselhoff added that the majority of concerns voiced by the local business community through the survey were about ensuring employee safety as mask mandates are gradually phased out in the coming months.
Wesselhoff said the chamber/bureau would also be in support of extending Summit County’s mask mandate, which has been in place since last June.
“We would absolutely support Summit County, we have been from the beginning,” she said. “We’ve encouraged our businesses to participate in the ‘Stay Safe to Stay Open’ campaign, the statewide campaign. Over 300 businesses have signed on to that and, of course, masking and social distancing is part of that.”
The Utah Legislature passed a pandemic “endgame” bill at the close of their general session earlier this month, ending the statewide mask mandate on April 10th. Individual counties and health departments are empowered to keep their mandates in place if they choose to do so.