Michigan to drop mask requirement for most state employees on Thursday

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - Starting on Thursday, most state employees in Michigan will no longer be required to wear a mask while on the job as Michigan continues to see declining COVID-19 infections.

The Office of the State Employer announced the change Monday. Masking may still be mandated for some employees working inside prisons and state hospitals.

The announcement comes days after the federal government released new guidelines saying people in counties where the coronavirus poses a low or medium threat to hospitals can stop wearing masks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlined the new set of measures for communities where COVID-19 is easing its grip, with less of a focus on positive test results and more on what’s happening at hospitals.

Following the CDC's new guidance, school buses no longer required children to be masked while on board.

The new system greatly changes the look of the CDC's risk map and puts more than 70% of the U.S. population in counties where the coronavirus is posing a low or medium threat to hospitals. Those are the people who can stop wearing masks, the agency said.

Macomb, Wayne, Washtenaw, and Oakland counties were all medium threat level, according to the CDC's interactive map.

The agency is still advising that people, including schoolchildren, wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high. That's the situation in about 37% of U.S. counties, where about 28% of Americans reside.

About 10 percent of Michigan's population lives in counties where people are encouraged to still wear a mask indoors in public.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.