Platte County eases COVID restrictions for bars, restaurants during emergency meeting
Platte County health authorities joined Kansas City and Clay County on Monday, lifting a number of its COVID-19 related restrictions for bars, taverns and restaurants.
The new order went into effect 3 p.m. Monday and allows those businesses operating in accordance with their permitted hours and, in some cases, remain open past midnight. It also removes the limit on the size of gatherings, however, mask requirements and social distancing are still in place.
Events attended by more than ten people are no longer required to submit a mitigation plan to the health department, according to the order.
The decision to lift the restrictions was approved during an emergency meeting of the health department’s board of trustees on Monday. The recommendation was made because the number of cases reported in Platte County and throughout the region has dropped since early January, Mary Jo Vernon, county health director said in a written statement.
“We all want life to return to normal, but we need to ease into these changes slowly. The numbers are improving, but we’re still in the midst of a pandemic,” Vernon said. “We must continue to protect ourselves and our families by wearing face coverings and physically distancing. By following these simple measures and getting vaccine when it’s available to you, together we can end this pandemic.”
On Sunday evening, Clay County health officials removed a majority their coronavirus-related restrictions previously put in place. Their move falls in line with the announcement Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas made last week.
Lucas said that the city would lift more of its coronavirus restrictions through an updated emergency order that went into place at 10 p.m. Friday and will remain through May 1.
Vernon said the move was done to eliminate confusion among county residents, businesses and their patrons.
“Plus, we don’t want our businesses to be at a competitive disadvantage by forcing them to close earlier than those in neighboring jurisdictions,” she said in the statement.
During their meeting on Monday, one Platte County health board trustee questioned why it was necessary to convene an emergency session when their decision to ease restrictions could have been done last week when Kansas City officials made their announcement.
Jeffrey Kingsley said the meeting notice was not sent out in time to allow residents and business owners to offer their opinions on the new health order.
“I want these things done, but the public apparently wasn’t aware of what we’re doing here,” Kingsley said during a virtual meeting held at noon. “And that I find very frustrating as well. This is like major changes in policies that the public aren’t aware of happening. And we need to work on our transparency. This really makes us look bad.”
Vernon said she consulted with their legal counsel and they compiled with Missouri law that required that the meeting notice was published 24 hours in advance. The meeting notice was placed on the door of the county’s health department and posted on their website.
Kingsley said more should have been done to ensure the public was notified in advance of the meeting.
“I am not trying to be a stick in the mud here,” he said. “But I also want transparency and I want what’s best for Platte County. And people don’t know what’s going on if they’re not aware of the meetings.
“How are they supposed to have their voices heard?” Kingsley said.
The Kansas City metro area added 120 COVID-19 new cases on Monday, making it the lowest number recorded in the past four months.
The seven-day average for new cases dipped to 206. Just a week ago, the average was 210 and two weeks ago, it was 297, according to data maintained by The Star.