Officials in Columbus, Bexley, Worthington and Whitehall announced Wednesday that mask mandates could end in a matter of weeks if COVID cases continue to decline. Business groups like the Columbus Chamber of Commerce and Columbus Business Roundtable are in favor of easing restrictions.
Chamber of Commerce President Don DePerro welcomed the news.
“We’ve encouraged our city leaders to allow our business owners to make their individual decisions and not so much a mandate from the city,” said DePerro.
Columbus Business Roundtable spokesperson Alexandra Denney said that the group has maintained this stance throughout the pandemic.
“Businesses should be able to do what’s best to protect their workforce and their customers to keep their doors open,” said Denney.
State health officials reported 2,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. That number is below the daily average over the last three weeks.
