Mask Mandates

This is the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that the Clinic has had an optional policy on masking. Officials say the decision comes as respiratory virus numbers are improving.

As COVID-19 cases rise again, masks will be required for all indoor visitors and employees inside county buildings regardless of vaccination status; A bill to allow Ohio school districts to arm teachers and staff faced strong opposition at its first hearing since the deadly school shooting in Texas; MetroHealth trauma workers sent care packages to Uvalde, Texas.

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District has decided to drop its mask mandate; state agencies and organizations will start planning to assist Ukrainian refugees at a summit in Northeast Ohio next week; Ohio lawmakers are rushing to extend the deadline for the return of overseas absentee ballots as debate over new state legislative maps continues; and more stories.

Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission have sent an adjusted map of congressional districts back to the state’s high court that delivers two-thirds of the seats to their party; Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is urging the state's five public employee retirement funds divest themselves of Russian financial holdings; An Ohio judge has blocked preemptive enforcement of a law imposing additional operating requirements on consulting physicians at abortion clinics; and more stories.

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman is calling for tougher sanctions on Russia as its war on Ukraine continues; Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth, and University Hospitals are all keeping their mask requirements for both employees and patients; Akron will use $3.5 million of its federal COVID-19 relief funding to reimagine its Lock 3 Park downtown; and more stories.

The lawsuit alleges that the school district does not have the authority to require “students to quarantine if exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and wear masks in school and treating unvaccinated and vaccinated students differently.”

Akron will distribute around 3,200 free, at-home COVID tests this Saturday at four locations; three parents in Hudson have filed a lawsuit challenging the school district's quarantine and mask-wearing rules; University Hospitals has closed its freestanding Madison Health Center emergency room in Lake County; and more stories.

The Parma City School District wanted to provide better protection from COVID-19 given the surge in case numbers in Cuyahoga county. The Beachwood City School district wanted to spend the beginning of the week implementing some safety steps.

Andover Sparkle Market in Ashtabula County is still struggling 18 months into the pandemic.

School board races in Tuesday’s election produced a variety of winners, both for and against mask mandates, but the OEA is pleased with the results.