CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Beginning on Monday, those visiting city buildings in Cedar Rapids were required to wear masks. The city reimplemented a mask mandate due to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention updated its COVID-19 community level rating for Linn County to high.
The COVID-19 community level is determined by the higher of the new admissions and inpatient beds metrics, based on the current level of new cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days. Linn County is one of nine Iowa counties that have a “high” rating by the CDC.
The CDC recommends masks for counties labeled “high.”
According to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, as of last Wednesday, Linn County reported 615 positive tests in the last seven days which is 271 new cases per 100,000.
City employees will be required to wear masks in City buildings, vehicles, and any other indoor locations while on-duty and in the presence of others. In-person, indoor meetings will require all attendees to wear a mask. Employees will not be required to wear a mask while in their office space and not within six feet of other individuals.
City services to the public continue to be fully operational and available online, via telephone and by email.
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, criticized the mask mandate.
“Wearing a mask should be a personal decision, not a government mandate. Forcing people to wear a mask, including children, continues to be the wrong approach. A toddler shouldn’t have to wear a mask in a public library — haven’t our children dealt with enough? I will oppose mask mandates and continue advocating for personal responsibility and freedom,” she said.
