MISSOULA – At Thursday’s meeting of the Missoula County Health Council, the council adopted changes to COVID-19 restrictions at the county level.
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 warrant will be lifted and become a recommendation.
People will still have to keep masks 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.
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Missoula City Environmental Health Director Shannon Therriault said Thursday that Missoulians will still have the option to follow the CDC recommendations they deem appropriate.
“Indeed, the expectations and hope are that most people in Missoula will still wear face coverings when they go for referrals, especially in public places where it is difficult to maintain a 6-foot distance,” Therriault said.
The health officer can reinstate the mandatory use of face covering if the incidence rate of new COVID-19 cases evolves, over 25 cases per 100,000 people over a continuous average of 7 days.
“We’ve received a lot of feedback from the community on how well the county has done in running vaccination clinics,” said council president Ross Miller.
Officials said it would be a step towards our old normal, “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 Missoula County’s total population has been completely vaccinated, Health Minister Ellen Leahy said Thursday.
Click here to read the full document showing the changes.