Northampton and Lehigh counties are resuming their mask mandates for county offices.

Carbon County has not changed its policy, but Commissioner Chris Lukasevitch said, “We are watching COVID trends carefully and will reconvene our COVID-19 Working Group on Aug. 17.

Effective Monday, face masks will be required at all Lehigh County government facilities for all county employees and visitors, regardless of vaccination status. The decision to reinstate the mask mandate was made by Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong and President Judge J. Brian Johnson in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance as COVID-19 transmission rates rise in Lehigh County. The policy will be enforced in all county-regulated facilities, including the Magisterial District Courts, until further notice.

On Wednesday, the CDC announced that Lehigh County advanced from the “moderate” COVID-19 transmission level to the “substantial” level of transmission. This is the second highest level on the CDC’s COVID-19 transmission scale. The County of Lehigh has taken a proactive stance against this development and has resumed mitigation efforts to limit virus exposure, including fully masking indoors.

All masks must be properly worn over the nose and cover the chin of an individual. For the protection of county employees and the public, this reinforced mask mandate is an effort to control the high transmittable delta variant that has spread throughout southeastern Pennsylvania.

Appointments are strongly encouraged for all in-person visits, and residents are advised to check each departments’ policies and procedures before arrival.

Cedarbrook Senior Care & Rehabilitation, the Lehigh County 911 Center, and the Lehigh County Jail continue to uphold its mask mandate since its implementation in March 2020.

“We must do what needs to be done in order to protect our residents and our employees,” said Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong, “For the safety of our communities, I strongly encourage our residents and local businesses to reinstate the use of masks back into their daily routine. We can beat this surge, and I ask everyone who has not yet received their vaccine to get vaccinated so that we can protect ourselves from this virus and its variants.”

Northampton County posted on its website that employees and visitors are asked to wear masks in county offices, regardless of vaccination status.

“We ask that you continue to be diligent and make choices that will help protect yourselves, co-workers, and public from harm,” the statement reads.

All visitors will be required to wear a mask while on county property regardless of vaccination status.

This policy is in effect until further notice.

The county is also continuing temperature checks by sheriff’s deputies at designated areas.

On Friday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 1,691 additional positive cases of COVID-19.