Page last updated on February 21, 2022 at 4:19 pm
Hi, it's Mayor John Hamilton. It's Monday, February 21st, 2022. Quick update for the public on all things pandemic here in Bloomington. We continue to see progress. We're encouraged. Both the hospital numbers and the overall case numbers are going down. Large institutions, Indiana University, and others are reporting significantly less spread. We are also reporting less for our own employees in the city government.
I want to thank everybody for continuing to try to protect each other by masking. Of course, vaccinations and boosters are essential to keep yourself and others around you safe. So we encourage you all to keep pursuing that. There are no significant announcements this week. We are watching as the end of February approaches; we may see some real relaxation of masking orders in early March. Emergency orders from the state may lapse. We don't know for sure. That would mean a change in public meetings to be more in person. We'll continue to see some hybrids.
I do want you to know even if the mask order does go away locally, many places may wish to continue a similar policy, individuals who want to continue masking for their own safety, or in a schoolroom where there's a determination it's needed. That will help us keep doing what we want to do: lead our lives, get educated, get to work, experience entertainment, et cetera. So stay the course and stay tuned to any changes that may be coming. We're glad to continue to see the progress as the Omicron surge seems to be diminishing quite substantially.
With warmer weather and getting outside, we hope we'll have a chance to do more things together. I have a State of the City coming up Thursday evening that will be in person and hybrid with the kind of protocols that we come to expect with proof of vaccine proof, masking, social distancing, et cetera.
But we see promising signs. We still have hundreds of cases a week. We're not down below 100 or to the 50 number we were aiming for before Omicron, but we're turning in the right direction. So thanks for doing what you're doing. Stay tuned for more information, as these mandatory restrictions may be loosening in the weeks ahead. We'll be watching for that, and I'll be back in touch. So keep taking care of yourself, and thank you for all you're doing to keep our city safe, all of you.
