Like most schools, organizations, municipalities and businesses across the country, the Carroll County Board of Supervisors revisited their mask resolution after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines were altered late last week. Chair, Gene Meiners, says a countywide mask resolution is not really viable anymore and he wanted to hear from the other supervisors before a decision was made. Rich Ruggles says they are in a ring-of-fire position but wants to make a special request.
Stephanie Hausman says county school districts, with the exception of Kuemper, have lifted restrictions as of Sunday night. Dean Schettler, says he does not see any reason to keep that resolution in place right now, but cautions this is still not over.
Schettler says he has been told one of the larger retailers in the Carroll community has said their employees will be able to “throw the masks away” if they have been fully vaccinated. However, there are others that are going to still require mask wearing on their premises. He stresses, he does not see this as an end of COVID-19 in Carroll County. Hausman piggybacks on what Schettler is saying, and that if people are more comfortable wearing a mask, then wear a mask. Meiners agrees, adding there are still situations when he will opt to wear a mask. However, he has concerns about rapid changes.
The mask resolution was set to expire in about a month, but Meiners says he prefers to make a motion to just rescind it effective immediately. This was approved on a unanimous vote. Even though visitors to the first two floors of the courthouse will be able to move about without wearing masks if they are fully vaccinated, those going to the third-floor judicial area will be required to wear a mask until a change to that policy is approved.
