Indoor mask mandate set to soon start within State College Borough. Here’s what to know
After a back-and-forth discussion among the public, the State College Borough Council unanimously approved an ordinance Monday night that requires masking indoors — regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status — in any business or building open the public.
The ordinance will go into effect once it’s signed, which borough spokesman Doug Shontz said is expected to be Wednesday. The borough will post a notice online once it’s official.
Businesses can be fined up to $300 per day for violating the ordinance, while individuals can be fined $300 per infraction.
“We all know that the science is clear on this matter,” Councilman Peter Marshall said, referring to mask-wearing. “And there is no reason why people should be put at risk because of the inconvenience — which is slight — of wearing a mask.”
The ordinance, recommended by the State College Board of Health, is technically only in effect when Centre County is under “high transmission,” as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But more than 93% of U.S. counties currently meet that definition by virtue of having more than 100 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over the last week, and Centre County’s case count isn’t expected to nosedive in the near future.
There were 433 county cases during the week of Sept. 5-11, a 50% increase from the prior week. County hospitalizations have also nearly doubled compared to this time last year, as there’s been a daily average of 17 patients this month, most of whom Mount Nittany Medical Center has said are unvaccinated.
The emergency ordinance will remain in effect until Nov. 22.
“I know there’s been some opposition to doing mask mandates; there has been opposition to getting vaccinated,” Councilman Evan Myers said. “But I do want to mention that the United States Supreme Court has ruled twice that states and school districts have a constitutional right to mandate vaccines and, also, those are applicable to masks.”
Myers referred to both Jacobson V. Massachusetts, a 1905 case where the Court upheld the authority of states to enforce compulsory vaccination laws, and Zucht v. King, a 1922 case where the Court ruled a school district could constitutionally exclude unvaccinated students from attending there.
Public discussion
Discussion and public comment lasted about 45 minutes, with those not on council split 5-5 on the mandate.
Several Penn State students spoke in opposition, and it was not clear if they were all from the same group. The first public speaker, Avi Rachlin, noted he was the founder of a student group that opposes both mask and vaccine mandates — although his group’s Twitter account currently has 63 followers and its subreddit a single member.
Rachlin noted that former General George Washington mandated the smallpox vaccine among the Continental Army because the mortality rate hovered around 30% — while the COVID mortality rate in the U.S. is currently around 1.6% based on confirmed cases and confirmed deaths. He intimated such mask mandates impinge on his personal freedom.
“I have done the math on the risk of getting sick from COVID, dying from COVID, wearing a mask, and I’ve made the educated decision that I will live my life instead of fearing it,” he said.
Those who favored the mask mandate pointed out that death isn’t the only worrisome side effect. Long-haul COVID, effects that could linger for months and vary in severity, could impact more than 1 in 4 who are diagnosed with COVID, even milder cases. Organs can also be impacted, and many long-term effects remain unknown.
Councilwoman Theresa Lafer, who received a polio vaccine at the age of 7, didn’t care much for arguments about personal liberty when the greater community was at risk.
“This is a specious argument about freedom,” she said. “If you wish to be free of communal requirements, move away from the community. Move into the woods; find yourself a nice little place out on a farm. And you do not have to interact with other people.
“But for those of us who choose to live in a community, large or small, New York or the hamlets outside of Ferguson Township, we have the right to choose to be part of the community and to protect our neighbors — or even the people we don’t know. That is what people do when they are citizens of a reasonable community. We take care of each other.”
Others opposed questioned the efficacy of masks, despite dozens of studies showing masks reduce the spread of aerosols, or droplets that carry the virus. (One earlier study showed a cloth mask, from an eight-layer cotton T-shirt, was even shown to reduce aerosols by 67%.) Risk, liberty and health concerns were also brought up by others opposed to the masks — but several others emphasized the benefits of masking far outweigh the risks.
Carter Gangl, a representative from the University Park Undergraduate Association, said the student government fully supports the masking mandate.
“Masks save lives,” the council student rep said.
Added area resident Geoffrey Landers-Nolan: “I am very concerned about any sort of authoritarian outreach. This is not an example of that. ... Wearing a mask or choosing to either get a vaccine or not attend certain schools, or stores, is not the equivalent of being oppressed.”
Scheduling a COVID test or vaccination
For those who still wish to schedule a vaccination, there are more than a dozen locations within State College to get one.
You can schedule through vaccines.gov. Or call your local CVS or Rite Aid for an appointment.
Free walk-in testing appointments are available at the Nittany Mall’s Sears Auto Center (183 Shiloh Road), from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The site is available through a partnership with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare.
The partnership is set to end Oct. 31.
This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 4:57 PM.
