COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus City Council repealed an ordinance requiring face coverings Monday and Mayor Andrew Ginther gave his signature, bringing an end to the last mask mandate from a major Ohio city.
What You Need To Know
- Columbus Public Health recommended that the mask mandate end Monday
- The requirement was implemented in September in response to rising cases
- Columbus City Schools said its mask mandate will end on Tuesday
“I am proud of Columbus residents who fought so hard for so long to beat back COVID-19 in our community,” Ginther said. “We are encouraged by the declining number of cases and that the burden on our health care professionals and frontline workers has been greatly reduced.”
The vote passed through council unanimously following a brief discussion of the city’s transition to optional masking.
“What we have gone through collectively over the last two years has been difficult. What we have asked of you has been difficult,” Council President Shannon Hardin said. “It was hard. We didn’t like it, no one enjoyed it, but we, together, did it.”
Hardin thanked residents for wearing masks during the last six months to protect those who are at higher risk, including the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. While he said those individuals should still consider masking, he said the current case numbers no longer necessitate a citywide mandate.
Councilmember Shayla Favor, chair of the Housing, Health and Human Services committee, said there have been "tremendous advancements" toward being able to live with COVID-19, including increased vaccinations and testing. But she said lifting the mandate “does not mean that we should throw caution to the wind.”
The council’s vote comes after Columbus Public Health recommended last week that the city’s mask mandate end Monday.
Edward Johnson, director of public health policy for Columbus Public Health said Monday that the virus levels have declined to “wonderful numbers.”
The positivity rate in the county is under 3% and the number of of inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients in the community is at 3.5%, he said.
In Columbus, major employers are gradually shifting more employees to in-person work as some companies are relaxing their mask policies.
After Monday, some businesses may continue to require masks, and the federal mandate for public transportation remains in effect.
Columbus City Schools announced last week that its mask mandate will end Tuesday. At the end of last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention modified its transportation mandate to stop requiring masks on school buses.
Ohio State University’s mask mandate remains in effect. Last week, a university spokesperson said officials were in close contact with local officials, adding that the school may have an update to share following the termination of the citywide mandate.
Hardin said during Monday’s council meeting that Columbus will stand against discrimination toward those who choose to continue wearing masks.
“What we do not want to see and what, truthfully, we will not really accept as a community is folks who will shame folks for the personal choice of how they will protect themselves and their families,” Hardin said.
Columbus Public Health said ending the mandate is in line with the CDC’s latest mask guidance.
“The pandemic is not over, but the situation has changed, and we are in a new phase,” Columbus Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts said last week. “It is time to turn our efforts to minimizing the impact COVID-19 has on our health, our health care systems and our community.”
According to the CDC, Franklin County residents who are at high risk for severe illness should talk to a health care professional about whether they should continue to wear masks. The county is in the “medium” COVID-19 community level on the CDC’s tracker.