De Pere City Hall (File Photo)
DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The De Pere Mask Mandate is set to end soon.
After a full year of masking, the city’s mandate is scheduled to end on May 5th.
“We have a council meeting on May 4, so it was brought up at the meeting that if an alderperson feels that maybe conditions aren’t right for the mask mandate to go away May 5 that they might want to revisit it and possibly extend it past May 5,” De Pere Mayor James Boyd said.
De Pere Alder Dean Raasch brought the motion forward.
“We have a patchwork of mask mandates now in the state. Brown County doesn’t have one, city of Green Bay does have one, I believe Appleton passed one, Neenah did not, Outagamie County has one but some of the communities in Outagamie County aren’t following it,” Raasch said.
For some residents, the mask requirement isn’t such a big deal.
“Personally, I don’t mind wearing the mask. We’re not right now because we’re outside but when it’s inside I think it’s just a way to stay safe and I don’t mind it at all,” De Pere resident Jeanette Perrigoue said.
Mayor Boyd says he feels that both businesses and residents have done a good job following the mandate.
“I think the vast majority believe in masking and the mask mandate,” Mayor Boyd said.
Mayor Boyd encourages people to respect businesses, whether there is a mandate or not.
“If a business wants to continue to require masks in their establishment, I think it’s extremely important that the residents let them do that and respect their decision to continue requiring masks in their establishments,” Mayor Boyd said.
The alderpersons voting to end the mandate did so saying De Pere’s policy differed from neighboring communities, and the COVID vaccine is now widely available.
Boyd is recommending residents to get the vaccine.
“We know to get back to where we want to be, we have to get shots in the arms,” Mayor Boyd said.
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