Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The city of Hogansville is requiring that masks be worn in all of its government buildings starting Monday.

Face masks are now required for residents and staff members when entering city hall or any other Hogansville government buildings until further notice, per a city announcement. Citizens can opt to pay their bills by using city hall’s drive-thru in lieu of entering the building.

“Given the upturn in [COVID] cases and the situation at the West Georgia hospital, we felt it prudent to reinstitute the wearing of masks in all government buildings,” Hogansville Mayor Bill Stankiewicz said Monday following the announcement on the city’s Facebook page.

Stankiewicz said the city was considering a city-wide mask mandate but had not come to a conclusion on the matter yet.

“That would require council action, and we haven’t taken any [action] on that yet,” he said.

This decision also applies to the Hogansville Police Department, which is now mandating masks at its facility, according to a post on its Facebook page. Anyone entering the department’s headquarters must wear a mask at all times when in common areas or when two or more people are present.

According to the most recent guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, those who are not fully vaccinated and age 2 or older should wear a mask in indoor public places.

In general, face masks do not need to be worn in an outdoor setting but should be considered in areas with high numbers of COVID-19 cases,  in crowded outdoor settings and for activities with close contact with others who are not fully vaccinated.

According to the most recent statistics from the Georgia Department of Public Health, Troup County has had 381 cases in the last two weeks and  now has a countywide total of 6,793 cases.