OMAHA- Omaha officials say no plans are being considered to reinstitute a citywide indoor mask mandate, despite a virus surge that has brought COVID-19 cases in Douglas County to levels not seen since April.

Omaha City Council members have been receiving weekly reports on the pandemic and have met with the director of the Douglas County Health Department. But council members said there’s no consensus around instituting another mask mandate.

“We’ll continue to evaluate and discuss with council members and the public health director,” council President Pete Festersen said.

Festersen and other City Council members said finding ways to get more people vaccinated against the virus will be the best way to bring the pandemic to a close. About 63% of adults in Nebraska are fully vaccinated, and some 50.4% of the state’s total population is fully vaccinated.

In recent weeks, mask mandates have been renewed in several Midwestern cities and across the nation. People in Kansas City, Missouri, must wear masks in most indoor spaces where 6 feet of distance cannot be maintained. That mandate took effect Aug. 2 and, as of Tuesday, was set to expire Aug. 28.

In Des Moines, masking is once again required in city buildings, the Des Moines Register reported earlier this month. In May, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill that has prevented school districts, cities and counties from imposing mask mandates, though it did not apply to public property.

Council members Brinker Harding and Aimee Melton, Republicans who voted against multiple extensions of Omaha’s previous mask mandate, said in separate interviews that they would oppose any effort to impose another mask mandate. Melton and Harding both said they have been vaccinated.

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