WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — The commander of the 88th Air Base Wing has reinstituted mandatory mask wear for all base personnel while indoors, regardless of vaccination status, citing guidance from the Department of Defense and the rise of the Delta variant of COVID-19.

The DoD issued a notice Wednesday requiring all airmen, regardless of whether or not they’ve been vaccinated, to wear a mask indoors.

Mask mandates are based upon “severity of transmission” in the local area around the base, said Col. Patrick Miller in a video statement Thursday.

“Our surrounding four counties, directly adjacent to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, are considered [to have] substantial community transmission,” Miller said.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force will also require masks inside the museum effective July 30. Events and activities will continue as planned.

COVID-19’s Delta variant is the cause for the rush to reinstate mask mandates, Miller said, as 83 percent of current cases are tied to the Delta variant. The ones most severely affected by the variant are those that are unvaccinated.

The CDC updated its recommendations on Tuesday for fully vaccinated people to wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission.