Columbus will suspend COVID-19 mask mandate this week, mayor says. Here’s why

Columbus’ coronavirus numbers have been steadily improving over the past four weeks, so much so that the city will suspend the enforcement of its mask mandate.

Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson told the Ledger-Enquirer that the city cannot enforce a mask mandate because the number of COVID-19 infections has dropped below the state’s case rate threshold.

The city’s number of cases has fallen to 72 cases per 100,000 persons, according to data from Georgia’s Department of Public Health. Governor Brian Kemp signed an executive order in August allowing cities and town to create their own mask mandates in the absence of a statewide mask mandate. But they can only do so if their case rate is above 100 cases per 100,000 people for 14 consecutive days.

Columbus first dropped below the threshold on Oct. 9. In reviewing DPH data, Muscogee is the only Georgia county so far that has had to suspend its mask mandate due to falling below the threshold requirement.

“We are not backing off of our encouragement for people to wear masks,” Henderson said. “I think if you look at how successful we’ve been over the last several weeks, despite school being back in, in holding our numbers down — that’s not by accident. It’s because people have been very careful about social distancing and because they’ve been wearing masks.”

The rate is calculated as a moving 14-day average. As long as Columbus’ case rate stays below 100, Henderson says the enforcement of the mask mandate will be suspended. If the case rate once again rises above 100 cases per 100,000 population, the suspension will be lifted.

“We’re not gonna pull it off the books, because it’s kind of sensitive if the numbers come back up,” Henderson said. “That way we don’t have to reenact it, we just have another announcement that we’re going to begin enforcing it again.”

Columbus’ mask mandate was first issued on August 21. Experts and officials largely agreed that the mandate was effective in bringing down the county’s coronavirus numbers.

Masks or facial coverings will still be required in local government buildings and at businesses that have chosen to require masks, Henderson says.

Scientists say we may see another resurgence during the winter months and the holiday gatherings that come along with it.

“This is not going away... we can’t take our eye on the ball, we have to be vigilant,” Henderson said. “We have to treat this thing like it’s just broken out. We need to be willing to look after one another for the next several months.”

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers for the region:

Muscogee County has reported 139 new cases of coronavirus over the past two weeks, according to DPH. A total of 6,277 cases have been reported in the county since the pandemic started.

Muscogee’s test positivity rate is 3.2% over the past two weeks, according to the most recent data from DPH. The county’s overall test positivity rate is 9.8% since DPH first began collecting data.

A total of 173 people have died from the novel coronavirus in Muscogee County.

What the White House says

The latest report from the White House coronavirus task force, published by the Center for Public Integrity, shows positive trends for the Columbus area.

The Columbus metro area remained in the green zone for new cases last week, and Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties are in the green zone for new cases.

LaGrange is now in the orange zone. Troup County, which includes LaGrange, was in the yellow zone.

The task force recommends continued mask-wearing, physical distancing, handwashing, avoiding crowds and getting flu shots.

The report notes that community spread is occurring at social gatherings of friends and family. The task force urges people to remember that friends or family members may seem uninfected, but can be asymptomatic cases. Asymptomatic carriers can easily spread the virus at private gatherings where people are not wearing masks.

The task force recommends outdoor activities, mask-wearing and social distancing at private or public gatherings.

For critical populations, the White House recommends using antigen tests on a weekly basis to monitor asymptomatic spread. The report includes staff at K-12 schools, nursing homes, assisted or congregate living facilities, prisons and first responders as critical populations.

Georgia is in the orange zone for coronavirus cases with 79 new cases per 100,000 population last week. The case rate increased 4% last week compared to the week prior. Georgia has the 33rd highest case rate in the country.

Earlier this month, the White House reported that Georgia is out of the dangerous “red zone” for COVID-19. In mid-August, the state led the nation with the highest rate of new cases for any state.

For test positivity, Georgia is in the yellow zone. The state reported 127,034 viral lab tests last week, 5.8% of which were positive. Georgia has the 26th highest test positive rate in the country.

This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 4:23 PM.