Mask mandate in Oxford will go into effect 4 pm today.
During a special called meeting Tuesday afternoon, Oxford Board of Aldermen voted 4-3 to require individuals ages 6 and older to wear face masks both indoors and outdoors where social distancing is not possible. The mandate will go into effect at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
The Board will revisit their decision at a future meeting.
Prior to the special meeting, Mayor Robyn Tannehill and the board had urged the public to get vaccinated and to wear masks.
This vote to reinstate a mask mandate in the city took place on the same day the local hospital has reached its maximum capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I call this special meeting today because our hospital system, quite honestly, is failing,” Mayor Tannehill said. “Everything we thought would happen last time COVID peaked is happening now and its worse than anticipated.”
Earlier Tuesday, Mayor Tannehill announced that Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi declared an internal disaster. The City of Oxford requested a military mobile hospital that would provide 50 extra hospital beds and an additional 35 military personnel.
The city is providing free pop-up vaccination sites. The Oxford Board of Aldermen had also announced that the city will be organizing pop-up vaccine clinics beginning next week.
Anne Summerhays
