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Holt lifts mask mandate





Sumner County Mayor Anthony Holt has lifted the county’s mask mandate beginning April 10.File

Sumner County Mayor Anthony Holt has lifted the county’s mask mandate beginning April 10.File

Sumner County Mayor Anthony Holt announced late last week that he was lifting the county’s mask mandate.

Those entering all Sumner County government buildings except schools will still be required to wear a face covering.

“I am encouraged by the declining number of COVID cases in our community as well as the number of citizens who are choosing to become vaccinated,” Holt said.

Sumner County residents have been under a mask mandate since Oct. 24 when the county started seeing a substantial increase in the number of active COVID-19 cases.

Gov. Bill Lee extended an executive order in February giving 89 county mayors across the state the authority to issue their own local face covering requirements through April 28.

Holt extended Sumner County’s mandate through that time with the caveat that he would continue to monitor the number of COVID-19 cases and consult with local medical and health professionals.

Holt said on Friday that he consulted with the CEO’s of the county’s two major hospitals as well as EMS Director Greg Miller and Health Department Director Hal Hendricks before lifting the mandate.

“They all concur it’s probably a good time to stand down a little,” Holt said.

He also encouraged citizens to continue to follow the advice of medical professionals by practicing social distancing, hand washing and wearing face coverings in places where social distancing is not possible.

Sumner County Schools students and staff may continue to wear face coverings, but will only be required to wear them on school buses, according to Sumner County Schools Spokesman Jeremy Johnson.

There have been a total of 22,880 cases of the coronavirus reported in Sumner County since March of 2020 resulting in 338 deaths. Currently there are 475 active cases, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

Anyone 16 years of age and older is eligible to receive one of three COVID-19 vaccines currently available. 3.1 million people statewide have received the vaccine with 17.4 percent of the state’s population fully vaccinated, according to state data.

In Sumner County, 72,971 residents have been vaccinated. Of that number, 14.09 percent have been completely vaccinated and 24.6 percent has received one dose of a two-dose vaccine.

To schedule an appointment for a vaccine with the Sumner County Health Department, visit vaccinate.tn.gov/ or call 866-442-5301. To find additional vaccine locations, visit vaccinefinder.org/search/.

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