Legislative COVID-19 Timeline
During the 2021 General Legislative Session, lawmakers passed several bills to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
This page outlines what those bills mean.
March 22
- All schools required to have 4 days of in-person instruction
- No soft closures allowed
- Test to Stay process is implemented (see school manual) when the following occurs:
- 2% positivity (schools with 1,500+ students) OR 30 positive cases (schools with fewer than 1,500 students)
April 10
- Removes statewide mask mandate
- Masks still required for gatherings of 50 or more people
- Masks still required for K-12 schools (see public health order)
- Masks still required in state buildings
- Businesses can still require masks for employees and customers
- County governments can enact local mask requirements
- State and local health orders end on July 1 or when the following metrics are met:
- 14-day case rate is at or below 191 per 100,000
- ICU seven-day hospitalization rate is less than 15%
- At least 1.63 million prime doses have been allocated to the state (prime doses are first doses)
- Utah Department of Health still recommends wearing face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19
May 5
- The Governor and UDOH must provide 24-hour notice to the Legislature before declaring a Public Health Emergency (PHE) or issuing an Order of Constraint (OC)
- A local health department must provide 24-hour notice to their county elected officials before declaring a PHE or OC
- The Legislature or county elected officials may overturn a PHE or OC at anytime
- 30-day maximum time limit on an initial PHE or OC
- The Legislature or county elected officials may allow an extension of a PHE with 10 days notice
July 1
- HB294 ends
- If metrics outlined in HB294 have not been met, all state and local PHEs and OCs end
- New PHEs and OCs must follow the requirements of SB195