Wyandotte County mandates masks in public, day after KC. Here’s what you need to know
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, announced a mask ordinance would go into effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The announcement came in a news release Saturday following a Friday press conference outside City Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, where Mayor Quinton Lucas announced Kansas City will require all residents and visitors to wear masks in public.
In addition to requiring the use of masks in public, the county is extending phase 3 of its reopening plan through July 6, the release said.
It comes as cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in the county.
“The seven-day rolling average of positive cases continues to be on the upswing,” Allen Greiner, chief medical officer of the Unified Government Public Health Department, said in the release. “This upswing coincides with the reopening of businesses and other venues as we try to get our community’s economy re-started after the shutdown earlier this year.”
Under the order, mask use will be required in all public indoor spaces including workplaces, businesses and places of worship. Masks also will be required in public outdoor spaces and public transportation with the exception of socially distanced exercise and when eating and drinking.
Exceptions will be granted to deaf and hard of hearing people, children younger than 5 and people with medical conditions that prevent use of a face covering.
Law enforcement will be asked to assist with enforcement of the order.
Mayor David Alvey at the Friday press conference urged mask use.
“I don’t rage against the virus by wearing the mask; I simply protect myself and others,” Alvey said.
“We want to continue to reopen Wyandotte County. Our best opportunity to continue to relax restrictions is for us to take necessary simple measures like wearing a mask, washing our hands, maintaining social distance, avoiding large gatherings. If we get those simple things, we can continue to get back to business.”
Kansas City Health Department Director Rex Archer said that the focus shouldn’t be on the mandate, but the science that says masks help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Unified Government Chief Medical Officer Allen Greiner said the metro community needs to work together.
“We’re seeing dramatically increased cases, we’re seeing dramatically increased people seeking testing, the positivity rate is going up.”
The county has reported 2,082 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 616 patients who have recovered.
For the second day in a row, the metro area, which includes Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, added more than 200 new COVID-19 cases Friday.
The area has reported at least 7,377 cases.
“Based upon the trends that we are seeing in Wyandotte County and across the nation, if we don’t continue to stop the virus the virus will stop us,” Alvey said.
Johnson County is not requiring masks, though masks are strongly encouraged.
Regional health directors on Friday also signed a letter, urging people to wear masks in public.
Kansas has reported 13,538 cases of COVID-19 and 264 deaths. Missouri confirmed 19,914 cases and 990 deaths.
More than 2.4 million cases have been confirmed across the country and more than 124,000 have died, according to numbers from Johns Hopkins University.
“Let’s get over the political divisions over the coronavirus,” Alvey said. “Let’s do what we can to stop it.”
This story was originally published June 27, 2020 at 1:22 PM with the headline "Wyandotte County mandates masks in public, day after KC. Here’s what you need to know."
