Dyer County Mayor Chris Young lifted the mask mandate. It is now an option for people to wear for most places. The mandate was lifted because of the COVID-19 vaccines being handed out to citizens. This mandate was originally supposed to be lifted on April 28th but got lifted early on April 9th at midnight. According to the mayor, the deciding factors leading to removal of the mandate were due to the number of the Dyer County population who has been vaccinated, as well as the decrease in active cases and hospitalizations.“Dyer County is approaching 33 percent of our population being vaccinated with at least one shot as of today [Friday]. Our active cases are now at 27, much less than it has been for months (Nov. 26, 2020 – 265 active; Feb. 13, 2021 – 108 active),” said Young. “Hospitalizations are down and treatment is now available at our local hospital to avoid serious and most life-threatening infections if someone is diagnosed with Corona Virus. I waited to see if Spring Break would have a negative impact on us and fortunately it had very little.”According to the most recent Dyer County COVID-19 numbers issued by the Tennessee Department of Health on April 8, Dyer County has reported a total of 5,336 total cases, 104 deaths, and 5,204 inactive/recoveries. The Mayor also stated that he encourages everyone to go and get vaccinated if they can because the battle of COVID isn’t over yet.