Starting Tuesday face masks will be required in Elkhart County in public when social distancing of 6 feet cannot be maintained. This order comes after a continued surge of COVID-19 cases in the county.
Elkhart County Health Officer Dr. Lydia Mertz announced the mask order Monday morning during a meeting with County Commissioners and Indiana Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box.
Elkhart County has seen a spike in confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and an increase in the infection positivity rate compared to other Indiana counties. Local hospitals have also reported increased traffic and less ICU bed availability.
Dr. Michelle Bache is the Vice President of Medical Affairs at Elkhart General Hospital. She posted a video response supporting the mask mandate.
“We feel like it’s really the right thing to do and the most effective thing that we can do to try to contain this coronavirus outbreak.”
The face mask mandate is expected to remain in effect until otherwise noted by the Elkhart County Health Officer.
Contact Annacaroline at acaruso@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @AnnacarolineC16
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