COLUMBUS, Ohio — The mask mandate in the city of Athens expired Monday, after city councilmembers tabled a motion to extend the requirement.
What You Need To Know
- Starting Tuesday, masks are not required in Athens
- City council tabled a motion to extend the mandate
- The development comes after the CDC relaxed its guidance
Athens City Council considered an ordinance Monday that would have extended the mask mandate to March 31 in the southeast Ohio city that’s home to Ohio University.
Council member Sarah Grace, who introduced the ordinance, proposed an amendment Monday that would have tied the city’s mask policy to the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.
The amendment, which failed by a vote of 1 to 6, would have required indoor masking in Athens at any time when it is recommended by the CDC.
Several council members raised concern that it would confuse residents if the mask policy would suddenly change when the county moves above or below the new thresholds for the CDC’s mask recommendations.
The latest guidance from the agency defines three “community levels,” which are low, medium and high. Universal indoor masking is only recommended for counties in the high level. The criteria for the categories are based on cases, hospitalizations and hospital capacity.
Athens Mayor Steve Patterson said he disagreed with the amendment, explaining his view that it would be a headache to enforce a mask policy that could change from one day to the next.
“On Friday, we were listed as medium. Sunday, we were listed as high. Today, we’re listed as medium,” he said. “From an administrative standpoint, how do we turn on and off this light switch?”
Patterson suggested it could be the right time for the city to move away from the mask mandate, noting that numerous indicators show the city remains on a downward trajectory with its virus levels.
He also noted that Athens is an outlier in Ohio when it comes to masking.
“We are the last standing statutory city in the state of Ohio that has a law on the books that requires face coverings when entering into places open to the public,” he said.
After Grace’s amendment failed, no one motioned to move forward to approve the ordinance to extend the mandate.
Following discussion, the council approved a motion to table the ordinance to extend the mandate.
That means that masks will not be required in Athens beginning Tuesday because the requirement that was in effect was written to expire at the end of February.
