WAYNE – With just over a month left on the renewal of the City of Wayne face covering requirement, the vote was split among council where Mayor Cale Giese voted to sunset the ordinance effective Tuesday, March 2.
Towards the end of the Tuesday evening regularly scheduled Wayne City Council meeting from the community room of the Wayne Community Activity Center, an update was provided about COVID.
After hearing from each councilmember, the vote went 4-4 (Buck, Spieker, Woehler and Eischeid for/Brodersen, Taoka, Muir and Karsky nay) to end the face covering requirement. Mayor Giese then broke the tie with a yes vote as all strongly recommend the community still continue to wear a mask.
City Administrator, Wes Blecke stated during the meeting that the number of cases per 100,000 in the health district was 38 on a seven-day rolling average. Also, vaccines were now coming into the Northeast Nebraska Health Department at a higher rate of 1,000 along with the pharmacy program rather than 400 before. The health district will now be moving along in Phase 1B to the infrastructure as all those 65 and older received their first dose.
Wayne was previously just the third community in Nebraska to still have the face covering requirement joined by Lincoln and Omaha.
Both Wayne State College and Wayne Community Schools along with all NSAA sporting events and activities will continue to have masks worn.
Join City Administrator Blecke and Mayor Giese on the ‘View from Wayne America’ this morning just after 9 a.m. on Big Red Country ‘KTCH’ 104.9 and waynedailynews.com.