Crowded Meeting With Few Masks ‘Foolish,’ Utah Governor Says

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Republican Utah Gov. Gary Herbert says it was foolish for people to crowd into a meeting to push for an exception to mask requirements in schools and it suggested a mob mentality.

Herbert spoke Thursday after local officials in Utah County abruptly canceled the Wednesday meeting because the crowd did not follow social-distancing guidelines meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

County commissioners had planned to vote on whether to ask for a partial exemption from Herbert’s statewide mask mandate for schools.

Attendees booed after the commissioners opted to push the vote to a later date because of health concerns.