INDIANAPOLIS — Governor Eric Holcomb’s statewide mask mandate has been lifted as of midnight Tuesday morning.
The mandate is now an advisory as Hoosiers have begun to see some relief from the COVID-19 pandemic. Masks will still be required at K-12 schools through the end of the school year and in state government buildings.
Outside of that, now it’s up to individual cities and counties to decide if local mask mandates will remain in place.
A mask mandate and capacity restrictions will stay put in Marion County beyond Apr. 6. Indianapolis will keep its mask requirement, which began in July, as well as other COVID-19 restrictions.
Several counties in central Indiana, including Hamilton and Johnson counties adjacent to Indianapolis, have said they will no longer require people to wear masks.
In Fishers, employees at BluePeppermint Boutique, a women’s clothing shop, told WISH-TV on Monday they will continue wearing masks and ask customers to do so as well.
Meanwhile, the manager at Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream says employees will wear masks for about another month, but the business will not require customers to wear them.
Fishers city leaders say businesses should feel comfortable calling the police if they don’t feel safe.
“If a business owner feels as though an individual’s refusal to wear a mask and refusal to leave is unruly or unsafe for others, our police department will absolutely respond and talk through the situation once they arrive and then hopefully allow all parties to walk away,” said Ashley Elrod, public relations director for Fishers government.
