Kansas City may require face masks in public to limit spread of coronavirus
Kansas City residents may soon be required to wear masks in public to limit the spread of the coronavirus, officials told The Star on Thursday.
Kansas City Health Director Rex Archer said that the mandate is necessary given the rise in cases of COVID-19. On Thursday, the metro area reported 227 new cases, a record increase for the second day in a row.
Mayor Quinton Lucas said it is a proposal he is “absolutely considering.”
“I know that health experts throughout the region are having a conversation, I think right now, in connection with a mask requirement, and I’d like to see where that goes.”
He said he would likely make a decision on Friday.
On Thursday, he hinted at it in tweets.
“As we consider a mask requirement in Kansas City, it is clear from experience and data how important wearing masks is to stop the spread of #COVID19, particularly in close settings like salons and restaurants,” he tweeted.
He added: “For those wondering any change in our policy will be discussed in conjunction with an update or extension of our current emergency order. The order is currently set to expire on Sunday, July 5.”
On Thursday, Archer met with health directors from area counties to discuss guidance on limiting the spread of the virus, said health department spokeswoman Michelle Pekarsky.
For weeks, Kansas City has encouraged people to wear masks, and under its emergency order, it allows businesses to turn away those who don’t. Restaurant servers, bartenders, barbers and other personal service workers must wear masks when they’re with customers.
But for the general public, masks haven’t been mandatory.
Sean Ackerson, who manages business associations in Brookside and south Kansas City, said opinions vary widely among businesses, but for many, a mask mandate might be welcome guidance.
“When the first phases came out, one of the most common requests we had from our businesses was to mandate the mask, and the reason was they knew that as long as it was voluntary, those businesses that chose to require them were put in the difficult position of trying to enforce that.”
Some businesses, Ackerson said, wanted to require masks.
“You have some that because they’re not required didn’t feel that it was worth the challenge of trying to force customers to wear them or to turn customers away that didn’t,” he said.
Country Club Plaza owners Taubman Properties require management staff to wear masks and push tenants to do the same, spokeswoman Maria Mainville said in an email.
“We are in support of the short-term inconvenience of a mask mandate if it means we can move past the impact of COVID-19 more quickly,” Mainville said. “In fact, in many other markets where we have malls, masks are mandated.”
Asked about the possibility of a mandate, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said it was “up to the local levels.”
“I’ve been pretty steady on that throughout this whole process.”
He added: “If the cities want to do that and they want to require that of their citizens to live there, that’s why they have elections in those areas. If people don’t like it, they change it. If they like, they keep the same people in place.”
Parson has ventured out in public without a face mask. He has called wearing one a “personal choice,” but has said he would comply with places that mandated them.
His health director, Randall Williams, told KCMO radio host Pete Mundo that he does not believe wearing a mask in public is necessary so long as social distancing is possible.
“I just went to Walmart 30 minutes ago,” Williams said. “I carried in a face mask with me. I didn’t end up having to wear it because I never was within six feet of people for any length of time, but I had it with me.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, has been recommending masks for weeks to limit the spread of COVID-19.
According to the health agency, wearing a mask can prevent carriers of the virus from transmitting it through coughing, sneezing or talking. To be effective, masks need to be worn over the nose and mouth.
In much of the country, mask wearing has remained voluntary, but California issued a statewide order last week requiring masks in most indoor settings.
Where Kansas City has required masks for workers at some businesses, California’s order mandates them for customers, too.
California also requires masks for people waiting in line at hospitals or pharmacies, at public transportation stops and when in close quarters outside.
Michigan, New York, Maine, Delaware and Maryland also have statewide mask orders.
The Star’s Katie Bernard, Crystal Thomas and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 3:38 PM.
