Beginning this Friday, business owners and churches in Douglas County will be able to set their own capacity limits.
The Douglas County Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 to opt-out of the Tri-County Public Health Department order. The resolution states, in part, that "the Board will not accept additional capacity and personal restrictions that may be imposed through the issuance of a local public health order of board applicability by Tri-County Health Department."
The Tri-County order is currently under Level Blue restrictions. With the unanimous vote, Douglas County doesn't follow those restrictions.
"We trust our citizens and businesses to think and act for themselves to protect their lives and livelihoods," a statement by the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners reads. "In lieu of further orders, we will continue to encourage strong public health recommendations, good hygiene, and the choice to be vaccinated."
However, the mask order issued by the Governor's Office will remain in place until at least May 3, 2021.
Commissioners stated that they're committed to monitoring data, which could cause the county to change restrictions once again, if needed.
The Tri-County Health Department had this to say in a statement:
"Per the Policy of the Tri-County Health Department Board of Health, each of our Boards of County Commissioners is allowed to opt out of a county-wide public health order. We believe that the Public Health Order we have announced is appropriate for all three counties given the recent rates of increase in cases all three counties have experienced and the possibility that increased spread of variant strains could reverse some of our recent progress despite our favorable trends in vaccination. However, support of local officials is important for the success of any public health order and we respect their prerogative to opt out of ours if they so choose."
*This story will be updated as more information is known. Refresh for up-to-date changes!