State College Borough poised to extend masking ordinance again as COVID surges. What to know
With a sharp rise in COVID cases around Centre County, the State College Board of Health issued a formal recommendation Tuesday for borough council to again extend the masking ordinance.
The ordinance, which requires both the vaccinated and unvaccinated to mask up indoors in businesses and borough buildings open to the public, is set to expire at the end of January. The five-member Board of Health recommended the mask mandate be extended until COVID transmission in the county falls below “substantial” levels as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meaning fewer than 50 weekly COVID cases per 100,000 residents. (Based on CDC county estimates, that’d equate to 81 weekly cases or fewer.)
In other words, the extension as recommended could potentially last months. No specific end date was agreed upon.
Borough council is expected to vote on the recommendation at Monday’s council meeting.
Council has the ultimate say on the ordinance but, for the last two years, it has not outright opposed any of the board’s recommended extensions. Still, it has the power to tweak, reject or accept the recommendation.
Based on CDC definitions, Centre County remains under “high” transmission with 1,453 cases between Dec. 29 and Jan. 4. That’s nearly 18 times over the level needed to be at moderate transmission, which would see the mask ordinance — as recommended — end.
Until borough council acts, however, the Board of Health’s recommendation remains only that. For now, the ordinance on the books is set to expire at the end of January.
Council will meet 7 p.m. Monday.
Businesses can technically be fined up to $300 per day for violating the local ordinance, while individuals can be fined $300 per infraction. But State College police Lt. Greg Brauser has previously said the emphasis has been on “education, not citation.”
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 1:36 PM.
