After being given the choice, Venango County will permit unvaccinated people to enter its buildings without masks once the state lifts the mask mandate on those individuals.
The state Department of Health on Thursday announced once the state lifts the mask mandate – on June 28 or once 70% of adults are fully vaccinated, whichever comes first -businesses, schools and municipalities may choose to either follow suit or continue to require people to wear masks at their facilities.
When the state announces masks will no longer be required for unvaccinated people, the county will not require them to do so in county-owned facilities, Venango County commissioners Chairman Sam Breene said.
“I have absolutely no problem with them lifting all mask restrictions,” Breene said, and that the county will not make rules regarding masks stricter than the state’s rules.
“We already followed CDC guidelines,” Breene said. “If you are vaccinated, you can go without a mask and we are not checking cards. We are going on an honor system.”
People are considered fully inoculated once they are two weeks beyond their last required dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
