City leaders from Bexley, Whitehall, Worthington, and Columbus met with Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts and Franklin County Health Commissioner Joe Mazzola recently to receive an update on the status of the spread of COVID-19 in the community, according to a statement by the city of Columbus.
Currently, each city has local orders in place requiring the wearing of face coverings indoors, however, Dr. Roberts reported that both COVID-19 transmission rates and hospitalizations have continued to decline dramatically. If current trends continue, each city expects to consider lifting local face covering requirements in the coming weeks, according to the press release.
“Our collective efforts to control the spread of the virus have worked, and we look forward to lifting mask requirements in the very near future,” Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said in a statement. “As we move from a pandemic to endemic, there may be times in the future when mask advisories or mandates could become necessary as new variants come to our community. We continue to emphasize that the vaccine and boosters are the best tool we have in the fight against COVID-19 and encourage all who are eligible to get vaccinated.”
Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler also released a statement on the matter, saying to the community, “We know that the guidelines and policies that we’ve created during the pandemic have only been as good as the willingness of the community to follow them, and your actions have resulted in lowered rates of infection throughout the pandemic, and have undoubtedly saved lives and enabled programs and services to continue that would have otherwise been disrupted. We are eager to be in a position where conditions warrant a relaxing of general public space requirements, and as we have in the past we will continue to turn to our public health departments for their recommendations, guidance, and expertise.”
According to the press release, the participating communities also “reiterated the separation of roles between cities and school administrators, and expressed support for the critical role played by school districts in maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment.”
As previously reported by The Ohio Star, Governor Mike DeWine has openly supported local school districts implementing mask mandates for students.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Man Wearing a Mask Has His Temperature Checked” by Forest Service, USDA.
