Lehigh and Schuylkill County commissioners said Friday that they will no longer require masks to be worn by employees and other people entering the county buildings effective Monday.

This ruling comes after the CDC updated the way it monitors COVID-19’s impact on the communities. The CDC launched a new tool to monitor COVID-19 Community Levels. Each county’s COVID-19 community level is ranked as low, medium or high as determined by a combination of the number of people with COVID-19 who have been admitted into local hospitals; the number of local hospital beds filled with COVID-19 patients; and the number of new COVID-19 cases within the county in the last week.

As of Friday, Schuylkill County is listed in the medium community level. Employees and other people may choose to wear a mask at any time as they deem appropriate.

The CDC recommends that people who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe illness should consider precautions.

Guidelines regarding the notification of COVID-19 symptoms, potential exposures, and/or positive test results will remain in effect.

The county will continue to monitor the community level and take necessary steps to protect the health and safety of employees, visitors, and their families.

Carbon, Monroe, Lehigh and Northampton counties are also classified as medium levels, according to the CDC.

Lehigh County

The mandatory mask mandate will be lifted at the Lehigh County Government Center, located at 17 S. Seventh St. in Allentown. Mask usage will still be highly recommended for all Lehigh County employees and Government Center visitors. This decision only applies to the Lehigh County Government Center with updates to follow from other county-regulated facilities.

The 911 Communications Center, Lehigh County Jail, Lehigh County Courthouse and Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehabilitation will continue to uphold all mask mandates and best practices.

All visitors should self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms prior to visiting, and should avoid all county facilities if they are sick or exhibiting signs of COVID-19. Temperature checks will continue for all visitors upon entry into the building.

Lehigh County will still continue to monitor the spread of the COVID-19 virus and practice social distancing, improved hygiene and required health screenings. The county will continue to monitor and perform temperature checks on all Government Center visitors. Appointments are still strongly encouraged for all in-person visits and residents are advised to check each departments’ policies and procedures before arrival.