Indiana residents are no longer required to wear a face mask in public, but some health officials are still encouraging people to wear masks while they are in public spaces.
Governor Eric Holcomb announced on March 23rd that the state’s mask mandate would be ending today. However, some areas of the state are still requiring that face masks be worn.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett announced on March 25th that Marion County’s mask mandate will remain in place for the foreseeable future, saying that it is too early to abolish the rule in the state’s most populous city, which also hosted both the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
The Indianapolis Star also reports that major retailers such as Walmart and Whole Foods will still be requiring that people wear masks while shopping at their stores.
Over 1.2 million Hoosiers have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as of Monday, according to an Indiana State Department of Health dashboard.
But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, even fully vaccinated people should continue to wear masks in public, when gathering with unvaccinated people from more than one household and while visiting an unvaccinated person at high-risk of severe illness or death.
Illinois is continuing with its mask mandate, and has even gone as far as requiring that high school sports teams and coaches wear masks while playing, something Indiana did not do. Governor J.B. Pritzker has said that the state will continue to follow recommendations from the CDC. Neither state officially had penalties in place, however, for enforcing the mask mandates.
