As COVID-19 cases rise, Kansas City leaders renew mask requirement for K-12 schools
Kansas City government leaders have reinstated mandatory mask-wearing for all K-12 schools as COVID-19 cases continue to surge and area hospitals are becoming overwhelmed with patients.
The measure, introduced for same-day passage by Mayor Quinton Lucas on Thursday, replaces an identical order that expired Jan. 1. It passed by a vote of 10-2.
Ahead of the vote, Lucas acknowledged that the ordinance did not go far enough to satisfy some and went too far for others. But he called the new order a “ largely moderate step.”
“(The order is) one that just looks to make sure that we’re protecting our schools, our schoolteachers, our staff, and our students — to make sure that we’re doing all that we can to ensure that there’s proper mitigation in Kansas City,” Lucas said.
Opposing the mask requirement were Councilman Brandon Ellington, 3rd District At-Large, and Councilwoman Heather Hall, 1st District.
Hall said she generally is against “telling people how to live their lives.” She also questioned whether the city should create rules for schools specifically, saying such decisions should be left to local school districts.
“I don’t understand why we aren’t allowing them to do their job,” Hall said. “We hate it when we get preempted by the state or by other bodies. And I feel like this is a way of us saying we know better than the school boards.”
The order will not be in effect until Monday. It applies to students over 5, staff members, and visitors of schools within the city limits. Religious schools are not included. Individual exemptions include a medical condition or a person who is hard of hearing. Some districts, including Kansas City Public Schools, are already requiring masks per their own policies.
The city’s latest COVID-19 mask order comes as area health professionals have raised concern with a growing number of cases. Schools, especially at the elementary level, have been cited as one area where infections may be transmitted more widely as vaccines only became available to children older than 5, and younger children cannot get them.
Kansas City Health Department Interim Director Frank Thompson briefed council members on the COVID-19 situation Thursday afternoon. He cited the worries of health care providers, including Children’s Mercy, the regional hospital most tailored to suit the needs of critically ill children, which is seeing its highest number of hospitalized children since the pandemic began.
Broader concerns were raised by Thompson and elected officials about the city’s current population of vaccinated residents. Roughly half the city has received the vaccine so far, Thompson said. But he said the city is working to increase that number through outreach and a relatively new incentive program.
As of Tuesday, the seven-day average of cases showed 2,100 new infections each day across the immediate metropolitan area, which includes Jackson, Clay, Platte, Wyandotte and Johnson counties. The rising tide has been driven by a combination of the delta and omicron variants of the virus.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 5:35 PM.
