Kansas City’s citywide mask mandate ends. Only kids, adults in schools required to mask up
The Kansas City City Council on Thursday rescinded the city’s mask order but approved keeping a mask mandate in place for kids and adults in schools.
It passed 11-2, with Councilmembers Heather Hall and Brandon Ellington voting no.
The previous mask order for everyone 5 years and older expired Thursday afternoon. Now, the mandate will only apply to anyone in school buildings and school buses. Mayor Quinton Lucas said it’s to ensure schools can operate as safely as possible.
The case numbers for adults has trended down, while numbers for children have gone up, he said.
Nearly 49% of Kansas Citians have been vaccinated, according to the health department.
“We will continue to protect everyone in our community. We think that it was most important for us to make sure that children who are just now having the chance to get vaccinated still have that 30-day window where parents can go out, make sure they’re getting vaccinated before we go back to school environments where you can see that significant community spread,” he said after the council meeting.
Lucas said school leaders have been adamant about continuing to have those protections.
He said that school districts that spread across multiple jurisdictions will tend to follow Kansas City’s order across their entire district.
There is also an exception for religious institutions.
“What we’re really trying to do is make sure that everybody, all of our young people, have a chance to be safe,” Lucas said.
He said he hopes the city does not have to create another wide-reaching mask order, adding that Kansas City has taken the needed mitigation strategies to address the Delta variant.
Businesses in Kansas City, however, may still ask that patrons wear a mask to enter. There’s is also a mask rule in place at city buildings, and masks must still be worn in federal buildings and at the Kansas City International Airport.
Hall, District 1, said she doesn’t agree with the mandate.
“I don’t think people should ever be mandated in a country like America,” Hall said. “I just feel like we should stay in our lane and be a city government and I feel like the state, school boards, all need to mandate the schools. Not us.”
The order will expire just before midnight on Dec. 2.
Children under 5 are exempt from the mandate. There are also some medical exemptions, as well as an exemption for someone who is communicating with someone who is deaf or hard of hearing. People who are alone in a separate room or bus do not have to wear masks.
There have been significant increases in cases for school age children, while cases for adults have trended down, according to the Kansas City Health Department.
The Centers for Disease Control this week approved recommendations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, officially authorized the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 5-11.
This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 5:05 PM.
