US: Hospitals 'at the brink,' Utah issues mask mandate

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert declared a state of emergency and ordered a statewide mask mandate in an attempt to stem a surge in coronavirus patient hospitalizations that is testing state's hospital capacity.

Herbert and Utah Department of Health late Sunday issued executive and public health orders requiring residents to wear face coverings in public, at work and when y are within 6 feet (2 meters) of people who don't live in ir households.

Herbert said his primary motiviation for issuing order was overcrowing at state's hospitals. "y are really at brink of not being able to take any more people in overflow mode, particularly in our intensive care units," he said.

Several of state's largest counties alrey required masks, but Herbert, a Republican, h resisted extending rule to entire state despite a two-month surge of cases.

new Utah rules also call for a two-week pause on extracurricular activities including athletic events, with exception of high school championship games and Intercollegiate athletic events as long as testing and social distancing guidelines are hered to. Herbert ordered a limit on "casual social garings" to household members only.

orders go into effect at 1 p.m. local time (MST) on Monday and are set to last until Nov. 23.

By Jan. 1, all Utah students at public and private universities who attend at least one class per week in person must be tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis.

State officials sent out an emergency alert to state residents on ir phones Sunday to alert m to Herbert's televised dress outlining orders.

Earlier Sunday, Utah health authorities announced a new high in number of coronavirus hospitalizations and 2,386 more confirmed COVID-19 cases as pandemic surged.

Some 424 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Sunday, according to Utah Department of Health. On Friday, hospitalizations stood at a n-record 395 COVID-19 patients.