Patton Township Following CDC, DOH Guidance on Masking

Patton Township is following Centers for Disease Control guidance and the Pennsylvania Department of Health order on masking, meaning people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are no longer required to wear face coverings in most circumstances within the township.

The township has had a COVID-19 masking and gathering ordinance since last September that previously required face coverings to be worn, with some exceptions, in most places open to the public, with no distinctions for vaccination status.

Township manager Doug Erickson said on Wednesday that the ordinance was updated on April 28 to require masking in accordance with the Department of Health emergency orders.

Following Centers for Disease Control guidance, the state health department last week updated its order to state that anyone who is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer needs to wear a mask or practice physical distancing in most places, indoors and outdoors, except where required by local laws, rules and regulations including local business and workplace guidance.

Erickson said township businesses may still require masks for people entering their premises.

Starting on Wednesday afternoon, fully vaccinated people conducting business at the Patton Township
Building will not be required to wear masks when in the lobby or public meeting rooms, Erickson said.

The Department of Health order still requires that individuals who are not vaccinated continue to wear masks indoors and in crowded outdoor settings. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration has said the mask order will be fully lifted when 70% of Pennsylvania’s adult population is fully vaccinated.

The guidance also requires masks to be worn in some circumstances, regardless of vaccination status. Those include in doctor’s offices, hospitals, long-term care facilities, homeless shelters and prisons and on airplanes, buses and other public transportation.

Elsewhere in the Centre Region, State College has its own temporary COVID-19 ordinance for masking and gathering limits that as of now still requires face coverings to be worn indoors regardless of vaccination status.

The Board of Health met on Wednesday and recommended changes to the ordinance that include following the CDC and DOH guidance for masking, encouraging but not requiring masks in crowded settings, and increasing the limits on outdoor gatherings to 100 people.

Borough Council is scheduled to meet at noon Friday to vote on the changes.

College Township updated its COVID-19 ordinance in April to follow current DOH orders on masking, while Ferguson Township’s ordinance contains similar provisions to State College’s. Ferguson Township supervisors are expected to consider changes to the ordinance at their June 7 meeting.