APPLETON – Visitors and employees entering Outagamie County facilities will no longer need to wear a mask, according to the Outagamie County Health Division.
Effective immediately, the general facial covering requirement and temperature testing in Outagamie County facilities has been lifted for employees and visitors, according to a news release Monday.
This change does not apply to departments who have state/federally mandated facial covering requirements. Those must remain in effect.
Updated guidance from the CDC considers more factors, like an area’s COVID-19 hospitalizations and hospital capacity, rather than case rates alone.
The Public Health Division will continue to monitor these factors and will advise of recommended adjustments to county policies.
While this change means employees and visitors no longer need to wear facial coverings in county facilities as a general expectation, please note that the county may need to adjust their approach in the future should conditions require it.
Also, while the requirement has been lifted, employees and members of the public are welcome to continue using masks as they wish. Use of masks continues to be recommended in higher risk settings like crowded indoor spaces, when interacting with/treating potentially COVID-positive people, and for immunocompromised individuals.
“I am grateful for the cooperation of our employees and the public who have helped us keep county facilities safe,” said Tom Nelson County Executive. “While we are certainly not out of the woods, we believe this is a prudent step forward. That said, we encourage vulnerable individuals to mask and for all to vaccinate and take appropriate steps to ensure their health and that of others.”
As a reminder, those who have been vaccinated and boosted are at significantly lower risk of severe illness as a result of COVID-19 infection.
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