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Columbus To Require Masks As Statewide COVID Number Climb

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther announced face masks will soon be required in all municipal buildings. 

The Columbus mask mandate will apply to all city employees and visitors to city buildings, regardless of their vaccination status, beginning Monday.  Masks have been already been ordered in municipal buildings in Dayton and  Akron, and Cuyahoga and Summit Counties.

The Ohio Department of Health reported 3,272 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24-hours, as the numbers continue to climbs with the spread of the delta variant. 

Since the middle of July, there have been over 35,000 new cases.  From the middle of June to the middle of July, there were just under 7,000. Health officials also report 130 new admissions to hospitals, 13 to intensive care units. 

There has been a slight increase in the pace of vaccinations statewide; 5.2 million Ohioans are now fully inoculated, including 57% of Ohioans over the age of 18.

August 5th Columbus Public Health head Dr. Mysheika Roberts and County Health Commissioner Joe Mazzola issued a mask advisory for Columbus and Franklin County.  Roberts said they stopped short of calling for mandatory masks only because state Senate Bill 22 prohibts such a blanket order for the whole population.  
 
 

A native of Chicago, naturalized citizen of Cincinnati and resident of Columbus, Alison attended Earlham College and the Ohio State University. She has equal passion for Midwest history, hockey and Slavic poetry.
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