SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 News) State officials and leaders in the health care community continue to urge Utahns to wear face coverings to slow the spread of coronavirus in Utah.

During his weekly press conference on the states response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Gary Herbert once again called for voluntary compliance with guidelines for face masks.

Herbert addressed the fact that mask mandates in some areas is controversial to some, but he implored Utahns to listen to the experts on the issue.

This is a step we can take. That we learned from our health care experts who tell us thats in fact what we ought to be doing if we really want to do the best effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, said Herbert.

Herbert called on one of those experts, Dr. Tom Miller, Chief Medical Officer for University of Utah Health, to dispel misinformation and explain the science behind wearing a mask.

Utah, Im pleading with you to put your mask on, said Miller. And put it on now.

These are great words from Governor Herbert about being responsible to each other. No one likes to have a mandate, but we all need to group together and link arms, so that we can protect the citizens of the state of Utah, Miller continued.

Miller said for 140 years, we have known masks have prevented the spread of disease. He called on Utahns to wear them especially now as the state experiences a surge in new coronavirus cases and the states hospitals near capacity.

Masks our medicine right now until we have effective treatment or vaccine. Miller called on the public to refrain from shaming or blame others for not wearing a mask. Lets use our mask wearing as a message to the rest of the public that we are serious about protecting the ones that we love.

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Masks are our medicine: Utah doctor pleads with public to wear masks - ABC 4