Masks No Longer Required In Pima County After Feb. 28

TUCSON, AZ — Face masks will no longer be required in public places in Pima County, after Feb. 28.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday against extending the face mask requirement for another month. Voting in favor of the extension were Vice Chair Adelita Grijalva and Supervisor Matt Heinz. Currently masking is required in indoor public places in Pima County when six feet of distancing can't be maintained.

The supervisors implemented the mask mandate in December, when cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 were rising sharply.

Cases in Pima County, as well as across the rest of the state have been on the decline in the past couple of weeks.

Supervisor Rex Scott said that the people who believe in masking in crowded areas are already doing it and the people who don't are not going to do it just because the county tells them to. Chairwoman Sharon Bronson said she agreed with him.

Scott and Supervisor Steve Christy both voted against the mask mandate in December as well.

"The community is exhausted over this," Christy said on Tuesday. "It needs to expire and it needs to expire now."