Gov. Eric Holcomb recently announced Indiana will be lifting the statewide mask mandate April 6.

It will be replaced with a statewide mask advisory, where face masks will only be recommended.

County health departments, however, have the discretion to require masks in some cases, and businesses also can continue to require masks for customers.

Dr. Christopher Bunce, the county’s public health officer, said the health department plans on extending the mask mandate, but only for restaurants and servers.

“It’s difficult to enforce a masking mandate when the state removes it. I think we’re going to have to choose our battles,” he said. “Restaurants and any close encounters are where we’re going to be emphasizing mask wearing.”

He said his reasoning is that restaurants create an environment where people are in close proximity with each other, especially servers.

County health departments have jurisdiction over restaurants and other businesses that requiring permits to operate, so Bunce feels a mask mandate imposed for restaurants could be an effective way for the county health department to prevent infection.

“We have a lot of say about safety and eating establishments, so that is an easier type of thing for us to supervise and enforce,” he said.

Bunce said many national food chains are extending mask mandates for their restaurants.

From his perspective, Bunce thought Holcomb should have kept the statewide mask mandate until at least May to give time for more people to get vaccinated.

In Indiana, there are three counties — Marion, Monroe and St. Joseph — that don’t plan on lifting the mask mandate.

Even though Holcomb announced the statewide mask mandate will be lifted, there are a few exceptions. Face masks will be required for government buildings, vaccination sites and COVID-19 testing sites. Masks also will be required in schools.

Bunce said the health department is still going to strongly encourage people to continue wearing masks in every indoor venue and to social distance when feasible.

Lately, Jackson County’s COVID-19 positivity rate has been growing. When Bunce spoke to The Tribune on Tuesday, it was at 7.6% — the fifth highest percentage in the state. He attributes the uptick in new COVID-19 cases in the county to an increase in gatherings, such as weddings and funerals and noncompliance with mask mandates.

Without county residents taking precautions, he said the mask mandate could become stricter.

“If things get worse in the next two weeks, everything I’m saying may be changed. I may be insisting that we continue to wear masks as much as possible everywhere,” Bunce said.

He said his largest concern is an increase in hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19. In the Indiana State Department of Health District 8, which includes Jackson, Washington, Lawrence, Orange, Monroe, Brown and Bartholomew counties, hospitalizations have gone up in the past couple of weeks.

While the county positivity rate is increasing, Bunce is optimistic that infection will slow down in the county since vaccines have been rolling out statewide since December.

“I think, hopefully, we’re going to nip this in the bud before the rate is too high,” he said.

According to new data, Bunce said the COVID-19 vaccines are extremely effective at preventing infections, the transmission of infections and hospitalizations.

“Right now, if we can get more people vaccinated, that’s the key,” he said. “There is one thing and one thing only that has shown to be extraordinarily effective, no medication that we have compares to vaccination and how well it works.”