Public Health Officer requests mask mandate variance for Sublette County
by Pinedale Online!
November 12, 2020
Sublette County Health Officer Dr. Brendan Fitzsimmons announced on Thursday, November 12th at the Sublette County COVID-19 Task Group weekly community update that he has made a request to the Wyoming Public Health Department for a variance to the state health orders, requesting a mask mandate for indoor public spaces in Sublette County. The request also asks for a prohibition on indoor gatherings of more than 100 people.
The mandate variance must first be approved by the State Public Health Officer before it goes into effect, which has not yet happened as of the time of this article.
Once the mandate is approved and goes into effect, it will require all adults within Sublette County to wear face coverings in public spaces in Sublette County. There are exceptions for eating, drinking, and engaging in physical exercise. Adults and children over age 5 will be required to wear masks that cover their noses and mouths while in businesses, government offices, at health care providers, and in any indoor public space in the county, regardless if there is 6’ social distancing space available inside. Click on this link to read the full draft order.
Currently there is no state-wide mask mandate in Wyoming for COVID-19. On Sunday, November 8th, Utah’s governor issued a state-wide mask mandate order. Colorado has had a state-wide mask order since July 17th. Idaho does not have a state-wide mask order, but some cities in the state do. Montana has had a state-wide mask order since July 15th. Nebraska does not have a state-wide public mask order, although there are some situations where masks are required.
Based on the WHEREAS justification criteria in the Draft Public Health Variance order, we should expect to see definitive evidence of the cited 'up to an 85% reduction in the transmission of COVID-19' within 2 weeks if everyone in the county is required to wear masks. Certainly by 4 weeks, the case data should be clear whether the mask mandate has been effective in slowing the spread of the virus in the county and if requiring the wearing of face coverings is working to keep people who don’t know they have the virus from transmitting it to others.
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