City, county react to spike in delta variant

The city of Chattanooga is relying on a newly reissued mask mandate in city buildings and vaccine incentives for city workers to combat the COVID-19 delta variant, while the Hamilton County government is relying on education and personal responsibility.

This week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised past guidance to, once again, recommend masks indoors as COVID-19 case counts surge. The new guidance and case data have spurred the federal government and other smaller governments to begin requiring masks and other safety measures for unvaccinated employees.

With 188 new cases reported in Hamilton County on Thursday — the most in a single day since January — and vaccination rates stagnant around 43%, local governments are now considering how to respond to rising cases.

City Mayor Tim Kelly issued an executive order late Friday mandating that employees and visitors who are moving within city buildings wear face masks.

According to the city, face coverings are required for “all individuals, whether vaccinated or not, while they are moving through city buildings, such as walking to their desks, or moving through common spaces” but exempts “vaccinated individuals while they are working alone in a room, or are socially distanced per CDC guidelines.”

The city’s director for community health cautioned about the severity of the delta variant,

among all age groups.

“This virus is spreading as fast as chickenpox, and the health effects of this mutated COVID-19 virus — even on younger individuals — are appalling and costly,” the director, Mary Lambert, said in a statement. “Unvaccinated people in the emergency room are begging for the vaccine, but for far too many of them it’s far too late.”

The order also says that community centers will remain closed indefinitely, with some temporary exceptions for vaccine drives held at community centers and for elections. The community centers will remain closed until either the city’s vaccination rate reaches 70%, up from 43% currently, or until “the velocity and number of COVID-19 cases reverses its current troubling trend.”

Earlier this month, the city also began offering $100 to employees who submit proof that they have been vaccinated and $70 to dependents who do the same.

According to a spokesperson for Kelly, 335 people had participated in the program as of Monday.

When asked if the city would consider mandating vaccines among employees, the spokesperson said nothing is off the table.

“All options are on the table. The city is monitoring the spread of COVID-19 and will take appropriate action to combat it. The bottom line is that vaccinations are the best solution to get to the other side of this pandemic,” spokesperson Ellis Smith said. “That is why we have rolled out vaccine clinics in community centers, in the Chattanooga Public Library, at Mayor’s Open Office Hours. We will continue to seek out ways to make vaccines more accessible for more of our neighbors.”

Smith told the Times Free Press that the city was also finalizing a vaccine incentive program for residents, which will be released next week.

Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger said the county is leaning on educational efforts to promote safety while leaving masks and vaccines to individuals.

“We met yesterday and our HR [human resources] department is working to put out educational materials because it really is an educational thing at this point,” Coppinger told the Times Free Press on Friday.

This time last year, Coppinger parted from many other Republican leaders and implemented a countywide mask mandate in public places, which ultimately lasted about 10 months.

While cases in the county are as bad as they’ve been since January, Coppinger said it’s different now because residents have access to the vaccine.

“Honestly everything’s done exactly what we said it was going to, and everyone was so eager to exercise their personal judgment during the mandate — and we wanted them to do it — but we didn’t have a vaccine back then,” he said. “The availability of the vaccine changed everything. Back when we were floundering, if you will, in November and December, during the scary times and numbers were really bad, people couldn’t go get a vaccine and be safe.

“Now they can and it’s their choice.”

Coppinger said he understands there are some people skeptical about the vaccine but emphasized his confidence in it.

“I personally, as soon as it was available to me, took the vaccine, and if they tell me I need a booster, I’ll do that too,” he said. “I realize it’s not FDA-approved [for non-emergency use] and I’ll be glad when it is, and maybe that’ll change some people’s minds, and I get that. But we do know that it is effective and it is safe.”

When asked whether he would consider requiring masks in county buildings, incentivizing people to get vaccinated or any other measures, Coppinger repeated that the county is past that point.

“We’re just at a place now that people should know how to protect themselves if they choose not to get vaccinated. They know about the shot, they know about masks, social distancing, personal hygiene and all of the things we’ve been talking about. We’ve been on this road for a long time,” he continued. “And we certainly recommend vaccines, but we’re not going to mandate anything for employees or anyone else.

“We’re going to continue to educate the public and let them know it’s serious and the numbers are going in the wrong direction,” Coppinger said. “We’re confident now that people know what to do and we’re encouraging it. I don’t know how to be any more firm about supporting it, but it’s a personal choice now.”