Wauwatosa Drops Masks For Fully Vaccinated

Wauwatosa WI

18 May, 2021

1:05 PM

Description

WAUWATOSA, WI — The Common Council voted on Tuesday to pass a new ordinance to allow individuals fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to resume most public activities without wearing a mask. According to the city website, created ordinance Section 8.20.025 would let individuals who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to resume normal indoor and outdoor activities without wearing a face covering or physically distancing. Exceptions to this would happen in healthcare settings and businesses where owners would still require masks and physical distancing. The ordinance takes effect immediately if the Common Council votes to pass and publish it. The ordinance passed unanimously after the Council made some amendments. While transmission of the virus continues in the community and fully vaccinated people can't eliminate COVID-19 infection, the economic, social and mental health benefits outweigh the risk of infection interim health officer Laura Stephens said in a statement. COVID-19 cases in Wauwatosa have remained low for the past few months. Stephens also said that emerging cases COVID-19 variants are increasing and that vaccination rates aren't high enough to provide herd immunity. In April, one of America's top epidemiologists warned of a fourth wave of a coronavirus variant among schoolchildren this summer. The ordinance comes after the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention changed their masking guidelines last week. According to the CDC website, people who are fully vaccinated (two weeks after getting two doses of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one dose of a Johnson & Johnson vaccine) can resume activities prior to the pandemic without wearing a mask, unless local government rules say otherwise.