HINESVILLE, Ga. (July 1, 2021) – Tonight, the Hinesville City Council consented to City Manager Kenneth Howard’s recommendation to ease COVID-19 mitigation efforts impacting City operations. Effective tomorrow, July 2, the City will begin returning to pre-pandemic operations regarding its face mask requirements within City buildings and how it conducts City Council meetings. The recommendation to ease the mitigation efforts that were put into place at the height of the coronavirus pandemic comes upon news from public health officials that Liberty County’s Community Transmission Index has consistently fallen below 100 cases per 100,000 residents. Falling below this threshold has been what many have been looking forward to since the appearance of COVID-19 in Hinesville. “When the coronavirus began to impact our community, we made difficult, but necessary, decisions to protect our residents, employees and elected officials,” Howard said. “At the time we made the decision to implement a face mask requirement within our City buildings and modify the procedures for our Hinesville City Council meetings, we immediately outlined the parameters that would need to be met to roll back those decisions - to essentially return to normal operating procedures. We’re happy to report that our community is now there, and we look forward to transitioning to our pre-pandemic operations.” Starting this Friday, individuals will no longer be required to don a face mask upon entering or moving about a City building. While face masks will no longer be required, they will still be encouraged, especially for individuals who are not yet fully vaccinated. According to the CDC’s most recent guidelines, fully vaccinated individuals may forgo wearing a face mask in many indoor locations, including government buildings, while non-vaccinated individuals are highly encouraged to continue wearing face masks indoors as a safety precaution. “As we look forward to getting back to normal life, we also want to remind our community that we need to continue looking out for the health and safety of each other,” Mayor Allen Brown said. “If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, please wear a mask and practice social distancing until you are. Getting vaccinated is the key to stopping COVID-19 and keeping our community safe.” In addition to eliminating the face mask requirement in City buildings, the City Council also approved Council meetings to return to normal operations. This includes modifying seating to allow more members of the public to attend and allowing the City Manager, City Clerk and City Attorney to return to their normal seating upon the dais. The Hinesville City Council meetings will continue to be livestreamed to the City’s Facebook page. The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting will take place on Thurs., July 15, at 3 p.m. in City Hall, located at E. M. L. King, Jr. Dr. As the COVID-19 pandemic is fluid and everchanging, the City will continue to monitor its impacts on the community and adjust accordingly.