Milwaukee lifting limits on gatherings and occupancies June 15, analyzing CDC mask guidance.
The City of Milwaukee on June 15 will ease many of the COVID-19 restrictions that are currently in place through a Health Department order, officials announced Thursday.
They had planned to lean heavily on the city’s mask ordinance after easing restrictions on gatherings and occupancy limits, but that plan was thrown into question hours later when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new mask guidelines.
The CDC news had Milwaukee and Milwaukee County leaders considering how to change local governments’ face mask requirements.
“This news is pretty much hot off the press, so we still want to be able to have some time to see what this means for our facilities and our county grounds,” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said during avirtual press conference.
Thursday morning, Milwaukee
Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson announced limits on gathering sizes and occupancy will be lifted for events and businesses, and events hosted after June 15 will not need to submit a COVID-19 safety plan to the health department.
The city will still encourage residents to follow safety guidelines after it transitions out of its current Phase 6 order and “away from many of the mandated COVID restrictions” on June 15, Mayor Tom Barrett said.
The city’s health orders have been in place since the pandemic first reached Milwaukee more than a year ago.
“After enduring a year of personal and economic sacrifice, this is a reason to celebrate,” Barrett said. “We have the opportunity to return to a version of normal.”
Mask wearing would still be enforced indoors, Johnson said, and the department would follow guidance from the CDC for outdoor spaces.
But that guidance changed by early afternoon. The CDC now says Americans who have been fully vaccinated may forgo masks and social distancing outside and in most indoor settings.
City of Milwaukee to vaccinate children 12 to 15 years old
Children ages 12 to 15 years old can now get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from the City of Milwaukee.
The vaccine is available at the Wisconsin Center downtown, the Northwest Health Center, 6431 N. 76th St., and the Southside Health Center, 1639 S. 23rd St., Johnson said. All of the sites take walk-ins.
The Health Department will begin offering in-school vaccinations next week, Johnson said.
Milwaukee mask ordinance in flux after CDC announcement
Officials did not immediately know Thursday how the CDC’s announcement would change legislation the Common Council is considering to ease Milwaukee’s COVID-19 mask ordinance.
The mask ordinance remains in force as long the city’s COVID-19 health orders are in place.
“We’ve been in conversations with the City Attorney’s Office because ... (the mask ordinance) is tied to the emergency order, and that obviously can be changed through legislation going through the Common Council,” Barrett said, adding that the CDC’s announcement raised questions about masking more broadly.
The ordinance requires masks to be worn outside in public spaces when anyone at least 3 years old is within 6 feet of any other person who is not a household or family member.
The council next meets on May 25.