ASHLAND — The Ashland County Health Department is now advising community members to wear masks indoors and when in large groups regardless of vaccination status.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added a recommendation on July 27 for fully-vaccinated people to wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission, in addition to its prior recommendation for unvaccinated people to continue wearing masks.
Ashland County falls under the “substantial” COVID-19 transmission category, meaning the total new cases per 100,000 persons in the past 7 days is between 50 to 99.99.
Ashland County Health Department Commissioner Vickie Taylor wrote in an email to Ashland Source July 29 that the department’s stance on masking aligns with new CDC guidance.
“As of today, Ashland County Health Department suggests everyone follow the CDC guidelines for wearing masks indoors and when with large groups of people even if you are fully vaccinated,” Taylor wrote to Ashland Source.
“All staff at the health department, even those already vaccinated, will be wearing masks when outside of their offices.”
Local health departments do not have the authority to mandate mask-wearing in the county, but the health department would enforce orders if they came from the state level, Taylor wrote.
Ashland Board of Commissioners president Denny Bittle said the commissioners do not plan on developing any of their own recommendations or mandates regarding masking, and will instead leave such decisions up to the health department.
“Last time, this board did not develop any kind of recommendation or mandate,” Bittle said, referring to earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic. “We let the health department do that.”
Commissioners vice president James Justice said he does not think it is the commissioners place to dictate whether residents wear masks.
“People have made up their minds of what they’re going to do and not do,” Justice said. “And basically, I don’t think it’s our responsibility to tell them. They’re educated. They know what they need to do, if they want to do it.
“I don’t want to put fear back in people. I don’t want them to be afraid to go out.”
When asked about the CDC’s new masking guidance, commissioner Michael Welch encouraged focus on vaccines and other virus prevention measures.
“I say vaccinate, which I did, wash your hands and just be cognizant of what’s out there,” Welch said.
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
The CDC recommendation for vaccinated people to resume wearing masks comes following evidence of the Delta variant circulating in the United States.
Breakthrough cases among vaccinated people have occurred, although only in a small portion of the vaccinated population. Regions with high clusters of Delta variant COVID-19 cases have had low vaccination rates.
Several Ohio counties have “high” or “substantial” COVID-19 transmission and its residents are recommended, by the CDC, to resume wearing masks indoors.
Ohio counties ranked “high” transmission include: Fayette, Brown, Adams, Scioto, Gallia, Lawrence, as of the most recent data from July 26.
In addition to Ashland, counties ranked “substantial” transmission include: Williams, Defiance, Putnam, Fulton, Henry, Erie, Lorain, Crawford, Carroll, Guernsey, Fairfield, Miami, Preble, Montgomery, Greene, Clinton, Warren, Meigs and Washington, also as of July 26.
