Lancaster County’s mask mandate may be gone, but both city and county employees must still don face coverings at work.
On Dec. 22, the city issued the fifth iteration of a policy regarding “pandemic preparedness in the workplace,†a day before the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department lifted its mask mandate.
That latest city policy bulletin requires face coverings for all employees when interacting with co-workers, members of the public or in meetings with more than two people. The bulletin says the requirement is in place because of the introduction of the omicron COVID-19 variant. Employees don’t need to wear them in private offices or cubicles if the employee is alone.
The policy has been in effect in some form since June 3, 2020, when the city first required face coverings for all employees.
That was more than a month before the local Health Department enacted its first mask mandate, which stayed in place until May 20 of last year.
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On the same day the mask mandate expired in May, city officials adjusted the personnel policy, allowing vaccinated employees to work without face coverings. Those who weren’t vaccinated were required to wear masks at work when they couldn’t maintain social distancing.
Then in August — because of an increasing number of COVID-19 cases — face coverings were once again mandated countywide.
The December bulletin also calls for avoiding in-person meetings for employees experiencing symptoms of COVID-19; maintaining 6 feet of distance between co-workers and the public; as well as frequent handwashing.
Asked about the city’s decision to continue to require employees to wear face coverings with the end of the mask mandate, Jennifer Brinkman, chief of staff for Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, referred to guidance from Health Department officials when announcing the end of the mandate.Â
That guidance, she said, urged all businesses and organizations to continue to require masks.
“The City of Lincoln believes it is necessary for individuals to wear masks to protect themselves from the spread of COVID-19,†Brinkman said in an email. “And they can do that without a DHM in place.â€
The countywide mask mandate, issued by the Health Department, was the only one of its kind in Nebraska over recent months. Ending the mandate just as cases were surging this winter has raised questions as to the timing, and to the involvement of elected officials in the decision.
With its employees, the county followed a similar personnel policy arc as the city, issuing the first policy June 11, 2020, that required all employees to wear face masks.
On June 8, 2021, the policy was modified, lifting the mask requirement for vaccinated employees, though the policy recommended masks for unvaccinated employees. Employees who worked in corrections, and the youth services and crisis centers still had to wear masks.
Then in September, the county policy was modified again, requiring face masks for all employees when community transmission is substantial or high based on the CDC COVID-19 data tracker.
County officials sent an email reminding county employees that the policy remained in effect after the mask mandate expired Dec. 23.