The following is excerpted from the Deseret News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.

A day after the state’s health care leaders begged Utahns to wear masks with COVID-19 infections surging, an interfaith group of 28 religious leaders issued a joint appeal to people of faith to use face coverings.

Latter-day Saint, evangelical, Catholic, Jewish, Islamic and other faith leaders asked Utahns to sacrifice “a small measure of comfort for the sake of saving lives.”

“As faith leaders, many of us have seen the effects of this virus on vulnerable persons in our congregations,” they said in a letter sent out on the letterhead of Utah Gov. Gary Herbert.

“We pray for the end of this devastating pandemic. However, the reality is that our actions must accompany those prayers,” they added. “Please join us in continuing to take action to prevent the further spread of the pandemic by wearing masks in public and maintaining physical distancing.”

Earlier Wednesday, Herbert pleaded with Utahns to wear masks in public and said he will sign an executive order requiring face coverings in state buildings overseen by his office. He agreed to join the faith leaders, spokeswoman Brooke Scheffler said, because he wanted to convey the urgency of the state’s situation.

To read the full article, CLICK HERE.