Gov. Gary Herbert ordered out-of-state travellers to register with the state after travelling to Utah.

“We’re hopeful people will use good common sense and good judgment,” Gov. Herbert said. “The directives we have in place, the common sense orders that we have as far as directing people how they need to change their behavior, I know it’s hard, it’s not in our nature. Our habits have been to get together and socialize, but everyone needs to say I have a responsibility to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”

Travelers entering Utah initially received a text message telling them to fill out a travel declaration within three hours of entering Utah.

The message asked them to go to entry.utah.gov to detail recent travel history and current health status.

The state said this order was enacted to trace and contain the spread of the coronavirus.

But it didn’t take long for the state to cancel the text messages. Some people said they received scores of text messages.

The state apologized for “annoying” so many people with the Utah travel text message for COVID-19.

Emergency officials say they’ve turned off the text alert system aimed at all drivers coming through Utah’s state borders, urging them to fill out a COVID-19 health declaration. They admit the texts went out to far more people than they intended.

The state still wants people driving into the state and flying into the airports to fill out the declaration, but drivers will be told about it in a different way.

“Now, they will just be alerted with an electronic sign either on the side of the road or overhead,” he says.