Salt Lake City mayor issues mask order for K-12 schools

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The mayor of Salt Lake City has issued a mask order in the city’s schools as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus spreads.

Mayor Erin Mendenhall said Friday she used her emergency powers to issue the order.

She says she plans to work with health officials to determine when it can be lifted.

The order comes a week after the Salt Lake County Council overturned a school mask that the county’s top health official issued.

Mendenhall says the majority of council members had privately told her that they feared retaliation and urged her to issue the order.