NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. — As Niagara County reaches the CDC's "high transmission level" of COVID-19 cases, county officials are implementing a mandatory mask policy for all county buildings.
Niagara County Legislature Chairman Becky Wydysh made the announcement Tuesday afternoon saying the county has been in the substantial transmission category for the past few weeks. But on Tuesday Niagara County crossed the CDC's benchmark of 100 positive COVID cases per 100,000 residents.
"After consulting with the Niagara County Health Department and our Public Health Director, Dan Stapleton, we have decided to implement a mandatory mask policy in all county buildings for both employees and visitors, regardless of vaccination status," Wydysh said.
"We are taking this step to protect both employees and the public. Employees can remove their masks when working at their desks, provided they can maintain proper social distancing."
The mandatory mask policy only applies to county buildings at this time; however, county officials are encouraging organizations in Niagara County to consider implementing a mask policy.
"We will continue to review this policy based on the data and amend it as necessary. Our hope is that we will see a decline in cases sooner rather than later," Wydysh said.