Mask Requirement Lifted At Heights Libraries

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — The Heights Libraries lifted its mask policy for guests this week.

While staff will continue to don face coverings, guests at all library branches will no longer be required to wear masks. The Library Board of Trustees approved the change to the mask policy during the Board Committee meeting on Monday night.

The decision to lift mask requirements for customers came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their COVID-19 risk levels for counties across the nation. Cuyahoga County is now considered a "medium-risk" county, and mask wearing is no longer recommended in "medium-risk" counties.

The CDC now uses hospital bed capacity, hospital admissions, and new COVID-19 cases to determine how high virus levels are in a county. The Ohio Hospital Association reports that COVID-19 patient levels have dropped 62 percent statewide in the past three weeks, and are down 89 percent in the past two months.

For more information on the Heights Libraries response to the COVID-19 pandemic, visit the library system's website.