Mayor Payne told the Superior Common Council on Tuesday that the Douglas County public health officer had advised the city that local COVID-19 cases were climbing and recommended resuming mask use in the workplace. "Beginning tomorrow morning, city employees will begin wearing masks roughly the same way we did during the ... part of the pandemic," Payne said, noting the policy applies to employees who interact with the public or work in close proximity to others.

When a councilor asked whether the mayor planned to follow a two-week timeframe tied to the virus incubation period, Payne said he had not set a specific end date and would "try pretty closely to the recommendations of the public health officer." He added that if the county health officer felt it was appropriate after roughly two weeks, the city would relax the requirement.

The mayor framed the directive as a safety measure to protect employees and maintain services, and said staff would discuss how to ease meeting rules for citizen boards and commissions that are struggling to make quorum because many participants prefer remote attendance. No formal council vote was required for the mayor’s announcement; the change was described as an administrative directive to city employees.