Columbus mulls end to mask mandate after CDC eases guidance

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.

What You Need To Know

• Franklin County is in the CDC’s new medium transmission level
• City officials are considering ending the mask mandate
• A local hospital official makes the case for continuing masking

Columbus 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. 

“We continue to watch guidance provided by the CDC as well as the cases in our community. We will continue to seek the guidance from our Health Commissioner, Dr. Mysheika Roberts,” spokesperson Robin Davis said. 

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. Following recent virus declines, Franklin County is at the medium level, according to the CDC. 

More than 60% of U.S. counties are at at low or medium transmission. At the medium level, the CDC recommends people at “increased risk” consult with a health professional about wearing a mask. At the low level, there is no recommendation for masks.

Dr. Mark Herbert, infectious disease specialist at Mount Carmel Health in Columbus, said Friday that his advice to city officials is to continue requiring masks. Despite the CDC’s new guidance, he said Columbus should not relax its requirement.

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.

“My recommendation to continue masking would apply to all schools and would apply to all public events, sporting events, entertainment events — you name it. I think we should be masking for all indoor activities currently,” he said.

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. 

According to CDC data, Franklin County has a case rate of 82 per 100,000 residents over the last seven days. 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.

On Feb. 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.

While Columbus, Whitehall and Worthington still have mask mandates in effect, Bexley City Council lifted its mask mandate Tuesday. Bexley City Schools still requires masks. 

“We have now seemingly passed the peak of the omicron variant,” Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler said. “The time has come to release the mask mandate, and this is a thing to celebrate.”

The CDC said Friday that it now only recommends universal school masking in communities at the high level.

Columbus City Council and the mayor could take action to lift the mandate in the city. Columbus City Council spokesperson David Miller said it is working with Columbus Public Health, following the latest case and hospitalization numbers.

“If trends continue to head in the right direction, the mask mandate will be lifted to accommodate the lower COVID-19 spread in our community,” Miller said Friday.

Herbert said Mount Carmel communicates regularly with city officials about its public health recommendations, including its support for masking. 

He disputed the idea that masking rules ought to be loosened based on the omicron variant being less severe than previous strains.

“The worst COVID surge in history, with more patients in the hospital and more patients dying than ever, occurred during omicron here in the last two to three months,” Herbert said. “There was no letdown in the severity of omicron.”

During a press conference Thursday, Ohio Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff addressed Columbus’s move toward possibly ending its mask mandate.

“The reality is we’re in a period of transition. Now, it’s a transition in a very favorable direction,” he said. “But whether it’s a school district or a local health district that’s looking at this, the masking policy, or the masking recommendations really need at this time to be a local decision.”

Vanderhoff said case rates vary substantially from county to county, and he also stressed that high-risk individuals are encouraged to continue wearing masks, even as communities in Ohio ease their guidance.