FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ohio — "Hold on just a little longer because everybody's counting on everybody else in order to get through this,” said Kim Maggard, the Mayor of Whitehall.
Whitehall is one Franklin County city where a mask mandate remains in place indoors. That will be the case through the end of March.
Through a partnership with Franklin County Public Health, Whitehall is hosting a mask distribution drive-thru outside city hall Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m. Each car can receive 25 disposable 3-ply masks at no cost.
"We have to think about the positivity rates right now,” Mayor Maggard said.
Columbus Public Health recommends moderate community transmission for four consecutive weeks. Right now, community transmission remains high.
A statement to 10TV from Franklin County Public Health reads in part, "while the number of cases, positivity rate, and hospitalizations are moving in the right direction, Franklin County is still in CDC's 'red category' for high community transmission."
And that's why city leaders say a mask mandate remains in Columbus and in Worthington.
Anne Brown, communications director for the City of Worthington said city leaders are consulting with Columbus Public Health “about the current COVID conditions and when the appropriate time might be to make a change.”
In Westerville, masks are required in city buildings.
Masks are advised in Upper Arlington.
And in cities like Dublin, Hilliard, and New Albany, there's no mask mandate.
OhioHealth infectious disease specialist Dr. Joe Gastaldo says wearing a mask is still a smart idea, regardless of mandates.
“Keep in mind, we are coming down from my very high cliff,” he said. “And our community positivity rate is still in the same range as last winter and where we were during the delta surge. So based on the CDC guidelines, really to base mask recommendations on levels of community transmission. Most counties in Ohio, including Franklin County, are still at high levels of community transmission. And what that really means is that there's so much COVID-19 activity out there in the community, it is still a recommendation to wear a mask indoors in public, regardless of your vaccination status. Based on our current trajectory very realistically, we will be at lower levels of community transmission, hopefully sometime this spring or summer, but we're not there yet.”
Below is a list of central Ohio cities and whether they have a mask mandate:
- Columbus - mask mandate
- Dublin - no mask mandate
- Hilliard - no mask mandate
- New Albany - no mask mandate, business owners may choose to have their patrons wear masks
- Reynoldsburg - no mask mandate
- Upper Arlington - mask advisory, urging people to wear a mask indoors and in crowded areas
- Westerville - masks are required in all city buildings
- Whitehall - face-covering order for all publicly accessible indoor locations effective through March 31, 2022
- Worthington - face-covering requirement for all publicly accessible indoor locations