Westerville is requiring masks in public buildings
In response to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, the city of Westerville on Tuesday became the latest Greater Columbus community to issue a mask order, but it did not go as far as some other cities.
Westerville declared a state of emergency and will require masks to be worn in all public buildings, including its community center.
But it did not issue a mask mandate for all indoor public spaces such as bars, stores and restaurants. In the past two weeks, Columbus, Bexley, Worthington
and Whitehall have all issued such mandates.
The orders went into effect for Columbus, Bexley and Whitehall on Sept. 10, and for Worthington last Thursday.
Christa Dickey, Westerville director of community affairs, said enforcement
was a major reason why the city did not issue a broader mask mandate. Columbus and Worthington's mandates will be enforced by Columbus Public Health , but cities such as Bexley, Whitehall and Westerville are in the Franklin County Public Health jurisdiction, meaning enforcement is up to cities.
As of Tuesday, Columbus Public Health had received at least 184 complaints related to COVID-19 safety protocols, including masking and social distancing, a spokesman said. The complaints were mostly made about area restaurants and grocery stores, records show.
“We're not convinced that mask enforcement is worth the time and resources of our police department,” Dickey said of Westerville's order. “What we're doing is asking the community to adopt this individually and personally, and to wear masks in public.”
In declaring the state of emergency, the city cancelled its Fourth Friday event for September, and the Great Westerville Pumpkin Glow set for Oct. 20-23 will be “reimagined,” according to a news release.
The city stressed that Beggar's Night (trick or treating) is not a city event and therefore is not cancelled.
The state of emergency lasts through Nov. 2, unless city officials decide to end it earlier.
Dickey said Westerville officials made the decision after consulting local health officials, who “informed us there were some serious issues at the hospital here in Westerville (St. Ann's) but also throughout the region.”
According to the Ohio Hospital Association's dashboard, on Tuesday there were 639 patients hospitalized for COVID in its central region, a 30% increase over the past 21 days and an 868% increase over 60 days.
“We felt a call to action here,” Dickey said. “There was a real reason to sound the alarm.”
Dispatch reporter Max Filby contributed to this story. kgordon@dispatch.com @kgdispatch