Albany’s controversial mask ordinance no longer in effect… for now

ALBANY, Ga. – After sparking hours of conversation and debate among commissioners and residents, Albany’s controversial mask mandate has been lifted after being in effect for only 19 days.

The mandate can only be enforced when Dougherty County has more than 100 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents. In the last two weeks, Dougherty County has had 91 cases total, making the mandate unenforceable for now.

Ward 6 Commissioner, Demetrius Young, says although the mandate was short lived, it was effective.

“The mandate worked as it was supposed to. The whole deal with the mandate was that it was supposed to bring down the spread of COVID-19.”

Dougherty County was once a global hotspot for COVID-19 cases per capita, but now, Dougherty County’s COVID-19 numbers are trending down.

“When you look at the numbers across the state Dougherty County has some of the best numbers around the whole state,” says Ward 4 Commissioner Chad Warbington, “And seeing where we were at in April and May and March when we were a hotspot, when we were having a lot of deaths a lot of illnesses a lot of hospitalizations, the citizens of Albany should feel really good that we’re in a different place today.”

Warbington was one of three commissioners who voted against enforcing a mask mandate and says the mandate isn’t solely responsible for the positive trend downward.

“The mandate has only been in effect for two weeks and so it might have made a small effect, possibly. I believe the mask mandate could’ve made people not wear their mask just as well as it made people.”

Young says if COVID-19 numbers rise above the threshold, the Albany Police Department can re-enforce the mask ordinance however, he says handing out fines is not the intention.

“The enforcement of the law has never been something where they were going to take someone to jail and they were just going to start handing out tickets it’s always been that they’re (law enforcement officers) going to approach people who are not wearing masks and say ‘hey we need you to wear a mask and we even have masks for you,’” says Young.