As the Omicron variant continues to cause cases to rise, the topic of a mask mandate being reinstituted has been brought up.
St. Joseph County rescinded its mask mandate less than a year ago.
But if a mask mandate is to be reinstated, who holds the power to make that decision?
That choice lies in South Bend with the St. Joseph County Council, and its 9 members have the authority to make the decision on whether or not to bring back the mask mandate.
With cases continuing to surge in St. Joseph County and showing no signs of slowing down, the St. Joseph County Health Department has made it clear what they think should happen.
“I think, given where we are in the county, it would be wise for the county council to impose a mask mandate, but the authority for that rests with the county council, so I assume they'll ask the health department for their opinion, we thinks masks are important, if that will help slow the spread, then I think that's the right step to take,” said Dr. Mark Fox, deputy health officer for St. Joseph County.
In an appearance today on WSBT First in the Morning, Dr. Fox says the reasoning behind the recommendation comes down to the surge in cases, as well as how easily transmissible the Omicron variant has shown to be.
“Our guidance has remained the same since the start of the school year, with the level of transmission that we've been seeing within the county, we recommend that everyone wear a mask when they're interacting in public, especially in enclosed indoor spaces, so that hasn't changed, I think probably what's changed now, is we would encourage people to wear the highest quality mask that they can,” said Dr. Fox.
The recommendation by the health department is to the St. Joseph County Council and its nine members.
We reached out to those nine today, and heard back from two: Diana Hess and Rafael Morton.
Hess said quote "We will take the recommendations of the health department into consideration as well as how much pressure hospitals in our area are under" end quote.
Morton had this to say quote "I've had preliminary conversations with other council members on this, and further discussion is needed" end quote.
The council is set to meet tomorrow, but as of now, does not plan to vote on any mask mandates this week, only to potentially begin discussing the possibility.
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