Huntington lifts capacity restrictions, requires masks for eight more weeks

The City of Huntington lifted capacity restrictions within city limits on Tuesday.

The city of huntington lifting capacity restrictions within city limits...but unlike cities in the area....the city will be extending the local mask mandate until may 31stfox 55's nico pennisi is live in huntington where he spoke with residents about the local executive order.nico, what did they say?

Huntington residents are divided about the mayor's decision.

Some say face coverings are the key to staying safe, others say they're a nuisance.either way, residents will have to continue to mask up through the next two months.

Take pkg:a step towards normalcy for the city of huntington."rollback immediately the capacity restrictions around levels yellow orange and blue on the statewide color-coded map."

Strick huntington is currently in yellow, meaning mayor richard strick's local executive order will move businesses from 75 percent capacity to full."with the newly eligible pool of residents that can get vaccinated, there's a difference between saying that they're eligible and actually making time for them to get vaccinated and immunized."

Strick that's why he's extending the mask mandate in indoor public spaces another eight weeks.longtime resident david mccullough says the mandate is nothing more than political correctness."i don't like the regulations.

I don't like it, but i'll follow it."

Mcculloughthe veteran says face masks are a nuisance.

"especially when you go to different places and they're yelling at you to put your mask on and i'm like 'ah, shoot!

I forgot it's in the truck."

Mcculloughbut to other residents like alfons gottfried, they're second nature."it's not even really a bother, honestly."

Gottfried wearing a mask is as routine as brushing his teeth."people just need to do whatever is best for people around them and that's mask up.

I mean, it's pretty obvious it helps."

Gottfriedmayor strick says the full spectrum of responses is expected."going back in our public records back to 1918, we had the same fights and arguments and same diversity of viewpoints then.

None of the responses have been surprising."

Strick he hopes huntington residents continue to be vigilant in the coming weeks."at the end of the day, we're still neighbors and we have to look out for each other.

That's the only way we've endured this year and it's the only way we're going to move forward through it."

Strick it takes about six weeks to achieve immunity from the pfizer or moderna series.

As of today, a third of eligible huntington residents have either begun or finished their vaccination process.

In huntington i'm nico pennisi fox 55 news