ST. CLAIRSVILLE — This Wednesday, Ohioans are looking forward to removing their masks after Gov. Mike DeWine lifts all health restrictions with the exception of health facilities, citing large numbers of vaccinated Ohioans, including the most vulnerable senior citizens, and decreasing numbers of COVID-19 infections.
However, private companies will decide for themselves whether they will ask their vaccinated and unvaccinated customers to continue to wear masks while on the premises.
At the Ohio Valley Mall, spokeswoman Candy Noble-Greathouse said the mall will relax its requirements while respecting the vendors’ decisions.
“Since the beginning, our government has followed the mandate, and last week they announced you no longer have to wear a mask indoors,” she said. “We are going to abide by that as a company, so you will not have to wear a mask in the common place.
“That doesn’t mean our stores don’t have the right to ask the shoppers to wear a mask. In the common areas you will not have to. In some stores, that may be their mandate.”
Other large supermarkets such as Kroger have issued policies. Kroger will follow the Center for Disease Control. As of May 20, fully-vaccinated customers and most fully vaccinated employees no longer need to wear a mask, and non-vaccinated employees will be required to be masked. Pharmacy and clinic employees will continue to go masked due to the CDC’s guidance for healthcare settings. The store requests non-vaccinated customers continue to wear a mask.
St. Clairsville Area of Chamber of Commerce Director Wendy Anderson said she has not spoken at length with any local establishments, but she said many shoppers may prefer interacting face-to-face in smaller businesses which may decide to relax masking policies.
“If you’re vaccinated and go in … sometimes it’s really difficult. I know a lot of people will complain because it’s difficult to shop. It’s difficult to do anything with those masks. I understand it’s for the safety and health and welfare.”
Krista Patterson, owner of Bud’s Bloomers would prefer unvaccinated customers to be masked.
“Obviously if you’ve been vaccinated, you don’t need your mask, but I don’t know how we’d be able to tell that they haven’t been vaccinated. I just hope people are honest about it. If they have not been vaccinated, they’ll have their mask on. I’m not going to require a mask just because I don’t know who has been vaccinated and who hasn’t, but if you don’t feel comfortable without one then you’re welcome to wear one. If not, then you’re not required to wear one here.”
“It will be at my customers’ discretion. Whatever they’re comfortable with. If they come in with the mask on, they’ll be treated just the same as if they don’t have a mask on,” Kerith Palmer, owner of the Boutique in St. Clairsville, said, adding face-to-face dealings and transactions will be welcome, with a return to a personal touch. “I feel like it’ll be nice to get back to normal and everyone’s getting their vaccination, so whether they’re vaccinated or not is not my business. They could gladly come in.”
In another sign of the waning pandemic, this week the color-coded map on coronavirus.ohio.gov which designated individual counties as yellow, orange, red or purple by high incidence rate, has been retired.
Belmont County Deputy Health Commissioner Robert Sproul said Belmont County had still been designated red, or third worst, but would have likely dropped next week.
“They only had a handful of red counties,” Sproul said.
Meanwhile, the Belmont County Health Department has concluded another round of vaccination clinics for students 12 through 17 using the Pfizer BioNTech version. On Thursday, Union Local School District saw 17 younger students vaccinated, while 10 Bridgeport Exempted Village School District students were vaccinated.
For the next four weeks, the health department will continue to hold vaccination clinics 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the Ohio Valley Mall community room.
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