“The time has come to release the mask mandate, and this is a thing to celebrate.” “We have now seemingly passed the peak of the omicron variant,” Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler said. Bexley City Schools still requires masks. While Columbus, Whitehall and Worthington still have mask mandates in effect, Bexley City Council lifted its mask mandate Tuesday. 16, the mayor’s office announced that mask requirements could be lifted in the “coming weeks” if virus levels continue to decline, sharing the update after a meeting with officials who represent Bexley, Whitehall and Worthington. To get to the low level, the county needs to have new COVID-19 hospital admissions and staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients be below the CDC’s targets. The CDC guidance said a county needs to have fewer than 200 cases per 100,000 people in the last week to be at the low or medium levels.Īccording to CDC data, Franklin County has a case rate of 82 per 100,000 residents over the last seven days. I think we should be masking for all indoor activities currently,” he said. “My recommendation to continue masking would apply to all schools and would apply to all public events, sporting events, entertainment events - you name it. Herbert is pleased that virus numbers are falling “briskly” - COVID-19 hospitalizations at Mount Carmel have dropped tenfold since the peak, but he said the mandate should continue because he believes that masking is part of the reason why cases are dropping. Despite the CDC’s new guidance, he said Columbus should not relax its requirement. Mark Herbert, infectious disease specialist at Mount Carmel Health in Columbus, said Friday that his advice to city officials is to continue requiring masks. At the low level, there is no recommendation for masks.ĭr. At the medium level, the CDC recommends people at “increased risk” consult with a health professional about wearing a mask. counties are at at low or medium transmission. Following recent virus declines, Franklin County is at the medium level, according to the CDC. The CDC’s new guidance bases mask recommendations on three transmission levels - low, medium and high, which are determined by cases, hospitalizations and hospital capacity.

Mysheika Roberts,” spokesperson Robin Davis said. We will continue to seek the guidance from our Health Commissioner, Dr. “We continue to watch guidance provided by the CDC as well as the cases in our community. A local hospital official makes the case for continuing maskingĬolumbus Mayor Andrew Ginther’s office said Friday it is evaluating the federal guidance as city officials consider lifting the indoor mask requirement that has been in place since September.City officials are considering ending the mask mandate.Franklin County is in the CDC's new medium transmission level.COLUMBUS, Ohio - The city of Columbus could soon end its mask mandate after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated mask guidance Friday that opens the door for the city to relax protocols.

Columbus city schools mask policy