Utah Department of Health warns of fraudulent mask exemption cards

There’s no such thing a state-issued medical exemption card for face masks, the Utah Department of Health said in a recent tweet. The message said that state officials or local health departments don’t provide exemption cards.

The department also said that it had received reports of people producing and presenting fraudulent mask exemption cards with Utah’s state seal to businesses and schools.

Mask exemptions and how to receive a medical exemption card are outlined in the state’s public health order 2021-2 and 2021-3. Schools are allowed to require a medical exemption card which can be obtained through a medical directive from a medical doctor (MD), doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO), physician assistant (PA) or advanced practice registered nurse (APRN).

Order 2021-2 says, “The medical directive must document a need for an exemption due to a medical condition, mental health condition or intellectual or developmental disability, that prevents the individual from wearing a face mask.”

The health department also reminded the public of face mask exemptions which include “a child who is younger than three years old and an individual who is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the face mask without assistance.”

Utah’s state mask mandate was lifted on April, but masks continue to be required in several places to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the department said. Masks are still required in federal, state and county buildings and facilities; schools, including K-12 and higher education; public transportation; larges gatherings and places of worship.

Some local governments have also elected to extend the mask mandate.