Some modifications to the Washington County Board of Health’s COVID-19 mitigation policy were approved at their May meeting.

Public Health Director Emily Tokheim shared that the proposed language changes reflected feedback she received from the Lee County Public Health Department who was recently surveyed by Medicare on their mitigation strategies. Some additions Tokheim shared are that the policy does not include any voluntary booster COVID-19 vaccine doses, and that there may be circumstances which require an employee to temporarily delay vaccination, such as a written recommendation from a physician. There is also added language that mask usage “may” be required during direct patient care, which WCPH will base on COVID-19 cases in the community as well as community transmission levels provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Another addition is that WCPH reserves the right to require additional mitigation measures at its discretion and without advance notice. The board approved a COVID-19 mitigation policy last February in order to be compliant with the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, which requires daily self-screening for symptoms and weekly certification that they have not been experiencing two or more symptoms listed, regardless of vaccine status.