"We have tried to keep all of our city policies in line with CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines," Mayor Pro Tem Jessy Gregg said. "We've also been working pretty closely with the county health department over the course of a whole pandemic. So, with numbers starting to rise a little bit, and with the new recommendations coming out from the CDC, we're just trying to keep everybody safe."

According to the press release, this mandate includes East Lansing City Hall, the East Lansing Hannah Community Center, the East Lansing Public Library and the East Lansing Department of Public Works.

"Those who are unable to medically tolerate a face mask and children under the age of 2 years old are exempt from this requirement," the release said.

City of East Lansing employees will also be wearing masks when in public areas, when interacting with the public and when physical distancing is not possible indoors.

"It's constantly evolving, so we're still (evolving too) as we're preparing for students to come back to campus," Gregg said. "Personally, I'm pretty thrilled that MSU has decided to go with the vaccine mandate, I think that that will be a considerable help towards keeping everybody safe."

Gregg said her team is going to keep watching the numbers and they still have their weekly check-in meetings with a group of local residents along with MSU representatives, county staff and local businesses owners as well as the city authorities.

"Those went to once a month during the summer, but are going to be back to (weekly) meetings was starting in early September to keep on top of the numbers and guidelines and coordinate messaging, and do everything we can do to keep people as safe as possible," Gregg said.