On May 13, 2021, City of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson announced that Milwaukee will likely lift most of its COVID-19 restrictions starting June 15, 2021, including lifting limits on gathering and capacity sizes for local businesses and events.
Mayor Barrett and Kirsten Johnson also announced that face coverings will still be required indoors, but the City plans to follow federal guidance for wearing face coverings outdoors.
The City of Milwaukee’s announcement was made shortly before the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (the “CDC”) announced that fully vaccinated people are not required to wear face masks or practice social distancing for most indoor and outdoor activities. According to the CDC, a fully vaccinated person is someone who is either two weeks removed from receiving their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or two weeks removed from receiving their single shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The CDC further announced that its new guidance does not apply to fully vaccinated people traveling by plane, bus or train, and does not apply to certain crowded places such as hospitals and nursing homes.
The City of Milwaukee Public Safety and Health Committee’s proposed new legislation would alter the City’s face covering ordinance to require people to follow the CDC’s guidance on wearing face coverings outdoors but would leave the indoor section as written.
Milwaukee’s current face covering ordinance, adopted by the Milwaukee Common Council on July 13, 2020, and effective July 16, 2020, requires any person age three or older to wear a face covering whenever inside a building open to the public or in an outdoor public space and within six feet of any other person who is not a member of the person’s family or household.
The Milwaukee Common Council is expected to meet on May 25, 2021, to review the proposed legislation and the City’s current COVID-19 restrictions.
Although it is unclear how much of an impact the CDC’s guidance will have on the City loosening its COVID-19 restrictions, local officials are expected to provide further guidance over the next several weeks.
If you have any questions regarding federal or local COVID-19 restrictions, contact your FOS attorney.
Be well.
