MISSOULA – At Thursday’s meeting of the Missoula County Health Council, the council approved changes to COVID – 19 restrictions in the state.
The rules will now become recommendations.
On May 11, when 60% of eligible Missoula County residents receive their first admission of a COVID-19 vaccine, the mask mandate will be lifted and become a recommendation.
You should still wear the masks for large gatherings of 50 people or more.
Things like social distance in public spaces, such as pubs and businesses, will also become a recommendation from Thursday 15 April.
MTN News
Shannon Therriault, Missoula City-County Environmental Health Director, stressed during the Missoula County Health Council meeting Thursday that Missoulians will still have the option to follow CDC recommendations at their discretion.
“The expectation and hope is really that most people in Missoula will still wear face masks when they go recommendations, especially in public places where it is difficult to maintain distance of 6 feet,” Therriault said.
The health officer may reintroduce the mandatory use of face masks if the incidence of new COVID-19 cases tends to exceed 25 cases per 100,000 people on a 7-day moving average.
Council chairman Ross Miller said: “I have received a tremendous amount of feedback from the community on how well the province has done in managing the vaccination clinics.”
Officials said it would be a step towards our old normal.
“People, especially in Missoula, followed 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 is fully vaccinated, Health Officer Ellen Leahy said Thursday.