Fort Wayne and Allen County health and government officials gathered at Citizens Square Wednesday to provide a COVID-19 update to the community.
The update comes as Governor Eric Holcomb plans to end the state’s mask mandate on Wednesday, April 6, despite the urging of President Joe Biden for such mandates to continue for the time being.
As of now, county health commissioner Dr. Matthew Sutter says he will not mandate masks locally, but is also not ruling out the option for the future.
“What I would be looking for is if we get into orange with a significant increase in hospitalizations, or we get into red do I believe that a mandate and other restrictions will be in place to stop the surge,” Sutter said.
Cases have slowly been rising over the past several weeks. With Indiana hosting the NCAA tournament and a holiday weekend coming up, Sutter remains concerned about a possible increase in community spread.
Mandates within local government, however, will continue; Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry says residents will be required to wear masks in city buildings until at least July 4, noting that 90 days will allow for more vaccinations to take place and give the city time to reassess.
Allen County officials are encouraging residents to continue respecting mask policies enforced by local businesses.
Vaccinations opened up to all Hoosiers age 16 and older earlier this week.
