It will be recommended, but you will not be required to wear a mask if COVID-19 transmission rates continue to climb in Door and Kewaunee counties. On Monday, the health department of neighboring Brown County along with De Pere and Oneida Nation’s departments issued their masking recommendations after the area slipped into the “substantial level” of community transmission. Under Centers for Disease Control guidelines, people are advised to mask up in indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status. This category is reached when a county has between 50 to 100 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people in a seven-day period. The last mask mandate was struck down in March by the Wisconsin Supreme Court after it ruled 4-3 that Governor Tony Evers violated state law by issuing multiple emergency orders without legislative approval. She understands people are tired of masks, but Door County Public Health Officer Sue Powers hopes people get vaccinated and take the right precautions.
As of Tuesday morning, Door and Kewaunee counties are listed as moderate transmission risk. By comparison, 10 counties are listed as high risk and another 34 are considered a substantial risk. Businesses like Target, Wal-Mart, and McDonald’s all recently announced it will require their employees to wear a mask in areas with high or substantial COVID-19 transmission rates while strongly recommending customers do the same.
Map courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control. Red is considered high, orange is substantial, yellow is moderate, and blue is low.
