MISSOULA – At Thursday’s meeting of the Missoula County Health Board, the board passed changes to COVID-19 restrictions across the county.
The rules will now become recommendations.
On May 11, when 60% of eligible Missoula County residents receive the first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, the mask’s mandate will be lifted and become a recommendation.
You will still need to keep masks on for large gatherings of 50 people or more.
Things like social distancing in public spaces, such as bars and businesses, will also become a recommendation starting Thursday, April 15th.
MTN News
Shannon Therriault, Missoula County City-County Environmental Health Director, stressed at the Missoula County Health Council meeting on Thursday that Missoulans will still have the option to follow CDC recommendations they deem appropriate.
“Really, the hope and hope is that most people in Missoula will still wear coatings when making recommendations, especially in public places where it’s hard to keep a 6-foot spacing,” Therriault said.
The health officer can restore mandatory facial coverage use if the incidence rate of new COVID-19 cases increases, more than 25 cases per 100,000 people in a continuous average of 7 days.
Board chairman Ross Miller said, “I have received a lot of feedback from the community on the smooth running of the county in the management of vaccination clinics.”
Officials said this will be a step towards our old normalcy.
“People, especially in Missoula, were following what we had to follow and now we’re getting out of it,” Therriault said.
About 33 percent of the total population of Missoula County has been fully vaccinated, Health Officer Ellen Leahy said Thursday.