By one vote and against CDC advice, Jackson County ends mask mandate — immediately
The mask mandate in eastern Jackson County ended 10 days ahead of schedule on Friday morning when county legislators voted 5-4 to suspend the county’s health order immediately.
The decision came despite statistics that the county’s top health officer said warranted a continuation of mask wearing indoors in public places, according to guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Transmissions of the novel coronavirus remain in the “high’’ category in Jackson County, as defined by state and federal officials, health director Bridgette Shaffer said. And only 53 percent of those eligible to get the shot that prevents serious side effects of COVID-19 are fully vaccinated and 58 percent have received at least one dose, she added.
But legislators have been under heavy pressure from constituents who opposed the restrictions, receiving many phone calls and emails asking them, and not always politely, to rescind the order that was to have ended on Nov. 22.
County Executive Frank White, who wanted the mandate to continue until its planned expiration, said protesters had been outside his home. Legislator Jalen Anderson said the discourse on both sides of the issue has been uncivil and hurtful.
“What a time we live in that such anger controls the narrative,” he said.
Anderson, Crystal Williams, Scott Burnett and Charlie Franklin had consistently voted to keep the mandate intact previously when the issue came up for a vote. They did so again Friday.
But two other legislators who had voted with them in the past, Tony Miller and Ron Finley, broke ranks Friday and sided with Jeanie Lauer, Theresa Galvin and Dan Tarwater, who have long supported getting rid of the mask mandate.
Tarwater’s effort to make mask wearing optional began in August, soon after it was imposed as COVID-19 cases were surging.
Sensing he was losing support for the mandate running its course, White asked the legislature to not end the restrictions immediately. He said it would create chaos and confusion in schools whose districts had not imposed their own mask requirements above and beyond the county’s order.
They needed time to prepare, he said.
But Galvin said school officials have had plenty of time to get ready.
“The people of Jackson County want this over with,” she said.
The mask requirement applied to urban and rural areas of Jackson County other than Kansas City and Independence. Kansas City ended its mask order last week. Independence has not imposed one since lifting its requirements last spring.
Elsewhere in the metro area, Wyandotte County’s mask requirements are in effect until Nov. 18 and mask orders remain in effect for several school districts.
Following the meeting, White issued a written statement calling the legislature’s decision unfortunate and thanking residents for their commitment to protect each other by wearing masks and getting vaccinated.
But he said that due to the high level of overall transmissions as defined by the CDC, he urged the public to continue wearing masks.
“Based on the CDC’s designation and recommendations, the Jackson County community is encouraged to show compassion and care for those around them by continuing to wear a mask in public indoor settings until we reach a ‘moderate’ level of community transmission,” White’s statement said.
This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 12:35 PM.
