Pima County drops mask mandate, Tucson mayor asks council to take on city mandate in next meeting

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TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) – A day after the CDC relaxed its mask guidelines, Pima County’s Board of Directors followed suit.

On Thursday, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people would no longer be allowed to wear masks in most outdoor and indoor areas.

The board of directors voted during a special meeting on Friday the 14th

The mayor of Tucson, Regina Romero, has already announced that the city will adapt its guidelines to the CDC. When this happens remains to be seen, but the city council decided on Tuesday, Jan.

“With the updated CDC guidelines released and no way of distinguishing between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, I will ask my colleagues in the Council to consider ending our local masking requirement at our meeting on Tuesday while strongly recommending Tucsonans obey They adhere to CDC guidelines, including wearing masks when appropriate, “Romero said in a statement following the board’s vote.

The statement continued: “Meanwhile, the mayor and council directed the city attorney and city manager to interpret, administer and enforce the city’s mask ordinance in accordance with evolving CDC guidelines at their May 4th meeting . This continues to be the case with updated CDC guidelines (and any other future updates that may occur) which allow fully vaccinated individuals, with a few exceptions, not to wear a mask.

Following the suggestion of Mayor Romero and in accordance with CDC guidelines and the measures taken by the Pima County Board of Directors, the following would remain if approved by the Mayor and Council on Tuesday:

• All individuals are urged at all times to follow CDC guidelines and the recommendations of the Pima County Department of Health
• Mask requirement on all public transport (SunTran, SunVan and SunLink)
• Local businesses and facilities could still set their own stricter standards of masking and social distancing as a condition of entering or staying in the facility.

The county said more than half of Pima County’s eligible residents “have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and more than 350,000 are fully vaccinated”.

In December 2020, Pima County passed Board Resolution 2020-96. Everyone had to wear face covering when physical distance could not be maintained.

The CDC guidance still calls for the wearing of masks in crowded indoor spaces like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons, and the homeless shelters, but it will help pave the way for jobs, schools, and other venues to reopen – and even the need of distancing to those who are to be eliminated completely vaccinated.

Copyright 2021 KOLD News 13. All rights reserved.

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