Covid-19
Indiana residents no longer required to wear masks in public as mask mandate ends
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Indiana residents are no longer required to wear masks in public as the state shifted from a mask mandate to a mask advisory on Tuesday.
Starting today, the state is relaxing its COVID-19 mask-wearing guidelines and is leaving it up to local governments and businesses to decide if masks are required.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is still encouraging people to wear masks, but it is no longer required in public spaces.
Many business owners in southern Indiana say they’ll keep their employees masked, but customers won’t be turned away without a face covering.
He says it’s important to be a resource for local partners and for residents.
“Throughout a lot of COVID, people have asked for more personal responsibility to say, ‘Hey, I want to make my own decision on that,’ Dr. Yazel said. “Now, we want to make sure they’re making good, educated decisions. I do worry about the quality of information that’s out there. I think people tend to believe information they see that’s more in line with their own personal beliefs and things. So I encourage them to keep looking at our social media and webpage for guidance.”
Indiana is allowing local governments to implement mask guidelines as well, but areas like Clark County and Floyd County say they will follow the state advisory.
Both Kentucky and Indiana have seen a decline in COVID cases, but not everyone sees eye-to-eye on the mask debate.
“Until we get down to the green, and we get the majority of our communities vaccinated, we still recommend mask wearing even if it’s not mandated,” said Dr. Sarah Moyer, Chief Health Strategist, Louisville Metro Dept. of Public Health and Wellness.
Dr. Moyer and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer were asked about Indiana’s mask mandate on Tuesday.
“That is not a good thing,” said Mayor Fischer. “That their mask mandate is ending.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Yazel says with or without masks, Clark County will proceed with caution.
“With our data looking good, we’ll just watch carefully,” said Dr. Yazel. “We’ve met every morning since the onset of COVID and talk about what our local epidemiology is and what things look like.”
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