JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — When Teton County residents ring in the New Year they can also cast their masks in the air.
Teton District Health Officer Travis Riddell said he will not seek to extend or pursue a new mask order when the current mandate expires at 11:59pm on December 31, 2021. Barring a significant surge in cases, healthcare system stress, or other significant community impact, the current mask order will be allowed to end.
Teton County is still in the red or high-risk level for COVID-19. As of December 17, the county’s current case rate is 179 per 100,000. The County Health Department and Teton District Health Officer continue to encourage community members to follow Public Health Recommendation #12, recommending that individuals wear masks in certain places once the mask order expires.
“Even though Teton County remains in the Red (high) risk level there are multiple developments that have occurred that allow us to feel more comfortable with the mask order expiring,” Riddell said. “These include authorization of booster doses for individuals 16+, enough time for 5-11 years old to receive the authorized COVID-19 vaccine and become fully vaccinated, reduction in the number of hospitalizations among Teton County residents, authorization of the first pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 for individuals with weaken immune systems, and the likely upcoming authorization of additional antiviral medications to treat mild and moderate cases of COVID-19.”
With the start of the winter season and the imminent arrival of the Omicron variant, the Health Department and the District Health Officer wanted to make sure community members, businesses, and organizations have enough time to take any necessary steps before the mask order expires.
Though there will no longer be a mask order in place, the Health Department encourages community members to help protect each other by following COVID-19 protective measures. Each individual and family has different circumstances conferring different risks.
“It is difficult to know who you could potentially be exposing (or exposed to) when you are out in the community; please be considerate of others and do your part to help protect all Teton County residents,” county health officials stated.
