‘A different atmosphere’: Kansas counties face new mask order choice amid COVID surge
Miami County had just 34 COVID-19 cases when Gov. Laura Kelly issued her first statewide mask mandate in July. Local leaders quickly opted out of the order.
The number now stands at 823.
The Democratic governor’s new mandate, announced Wednesday, is forcing local officials in counties that repealed Kelly’s first order to decide, again, whether to allow residents to shop, work and go about their day without a mask—one of the most effective ways to reduce transmission of the coronavirus.
Miami County Commissioner George Pretz said comments from constituents in the wake of Kelly’s decision have been split 50-50. He didn’t know whether the commission would hold a special meeting to vote on the order before it goes into effect on Nov. 25.
“Masks work vs. masks don’t work. As simple as that,” Pretz said, summing up what he’s heard.
Miami is just south of Johnson County.
Kelly is holding off on implementing her order for a week to give counties a chance to pass their own. Counties with orders in place by Nov. 25 can keep them, an incentive the governor hopes will encourage local officials to take at least some action.
County commissions across the state are expected to meet over the next week to decide what path to take. They can opt out of Kelly’s mandate under state law, but if they do nothing, her order takes effect.
“I’m listening to everything and everybody right now,” Pretz said when asked whether he will support a mask order.
More than two dozen counties—out of 105—already have some form of a mask order, and most of the state’s population falls under one. The biggest counties—Johnson, Wyandotte, Sedgwick—all have local mask rules.
Others are grappling with whether to implement one at the governor’s urging. The Sherman County Commission was meeting Thursday afternoon on whether to adopt their own order. More than 1 in 20 residents in the rural western county that borders Colorado have been infected with COVID-19 —a rate higher than many large counties.
“Not that we don’t want to comply with the governor’s mandate, but it’s pretty far-reaching,” Commissioner John Topliff said.
The local decisions will come at a critical moment in the fight against COVID-19. Kansas cases are soaring and hospitalizations are rising, straining the healthcare system. The number of hospitalizations has risen from 285 on Oct. 19 to 1,039 on Nov. 18, according to data compiled by the COVID-19 Tracking Project.
Health officials and other leaders are begging for action, pointing to hospitals in the Kansas City area, Topeka and Wichita that have begun to hold COVID-19 patients in emergency rooms and hallways as they run out of beds.
“As COVID-19 continues to spread through Kansas communities and hospitalizations increase at concerning rates, it is clear we must take action to protect our communities and our economy,” Kelly said Wednesday.
In Missouri Thursday, Gov. Mike Parson extended a state of emergency through March as hospitals struggled to keep up with the relentless growth in coronavirus cases. But Parson, who was elected by commanding margin to a full term earlier this month after campaigning against a mask mandate, said his stance had not changed.
“I have been very clear on that from the beginning,” Parson said. “What I am opposed to is mandates from this position to the people of this state.”
On Thursday, Missouri confirmed 257,822 cases including 3,507 deaths. There are currently 2,453 hospitalizations with 31% of ICU beds available. The seven-day positive test rate was 23.7%.
When Kelly issued her first mask order in July, the majority of counties opted out. Some localities back then still had very few cases and hospital capacity wasn’t a problem.
The recent surge of cases has left no corner of the state unaffected, however. A large outbreak in Norton County (population 5,540) last month infected every resident of one nursing home and demonstrated how the virus could reach into rural Kansas.
Even some commissioners who are reluctant to say how they’ll respond to the governor’s latest order acknowledge the situation has changed.
“We did vote to opt out of the first one,” Russell County Commissioner Steve Reinhardt said. “I will admit it’s a different atmosphere here now. It really is.”
The Russell County Commission will hold a special meeting Friday on the mask order. Reinhardt said he expects the commission to decide between adopting Kelly’s order or opting out again. He wouldn’t say how he’ll vote.
Russell County, along I-70 west of Salina, had no confirmed COVID-19 cases when Kelly issued her order in July. On Wednesday, it had 391 and is reporting 17 new cases a day on average, according to data compiled by The New York Times.
Local officials have so far relied on encouragement rather than mandates to get residents to cover their faces. The county health department’s Facebook page is filled with gentle reminders to wear a mask. “The holidays are approaching and nobody wants to miss the festivities due to being in isolation or quarantine. When in doubt, mask up!!!” a post on Wednesday said.
Reinhardt said the City of Russell had launched a “stomp COVID” program to promote mask wearing.
“It’s made a difference, it really has. I’ve seen a lot more masks,” Reinhardt said.
In Wabaunsee County, west of Topeka, the total number of cases has more than tripled over the past month, from 81 on Oct. 19 to 266 on Wednesday. Joel Fager, the county commission chairman, said residents with sick or frail family members aren’t hesitating to use masks, but others aren’t as concerned.
He contends statewide mandates in the spring, which closed businesses and severely limited gatherings, angered residents in the county, which at the time had relatively few cases.
“It almost feels like they were screaming, ‘The sky is falling’ to begin with, and then when you have those measures in place and it was not affecting us as much, that’s what upset people,” Fager said. “But I think now that it’s more prevalent in this area, it’s more realistic.”
The commission will discuss Kelly’s order on Monday. Fager added that while commissioners need to review the mandate before deciding what path to take, he said he believes education is more effective than orders.
“How do you try and have some of these measures be a part of your life without causing a lot of problems?” Fager said.
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 4:50 PM.
