Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas extends mask requirement
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Masks in the Kansas City region
Here’s the latest on masks and the coronavirus in Kansas City and the surrounding areas.
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The United Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas has extended its public health order requiring masks be worn in public spaces as the region continues to deal with the latest surge of COVID-19.
Commissioners on Thursday evening unanimously approved the extension, which goes through Nov. 18. It mirrors the existing order that was passed in August first reinstating masks for the area.
Under the health order, everyone ages 5 and up is required to wear a mask when visiting indoor public spaces regardless of vaccination status. Some exceptions are offered for people with a medical condition or a disability that would make mask-wearing difficult.
The order applies specifically to Kansas City, Kansas and the unincorporated area of Loring. The municipalities of Edwardsville and Bonner Springs were included in the original proposal last month, but commissioners agreed to leave them out — a decision that remained intact Thursday.
Little discussion was had during the full commission meeting Thursday. In a session beforehand, Wyandotte County Health Department Deputy Medical Officer Erin Corriveau noted a majority of the county remains unvaccinated.
Roughly 40% of Wyandotte County is fully vaccinated and about 47% have received at least one dose, data from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment shows. Roughly 54% of the country is currently vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Total cases have begun to decrease in Wyandotte County, though hospitalizations and deaths remain high, Corriveau reported. The region appears to be rounding a corner amid the latest surge of the virus driven by the highly-contagious delta variant, she said, but there are still strains on local hospitals.
“We really need to take them into consideration, the exhaustion of our nurses and of our resources for health care workers,” she said.
As of Friday, new COVID-19 cases had dropped by about 25% compared with the past two weeks, data maintained by The Star shows. But the rate of COVID-19 deaths had climbed to an average of 10 per day for the region — which covers Jackson, Clay, Platte, Johnson and Wyandotte counties.
Health experts agree that masks are an effective and reasonable way to stem the spread of COVID-19. Several area leaders have reinstated mask mandates over the past month, including Kansas City and Jackson County, though others are only encouraging them in public situations.
The Star’s Katie Moore contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 8:40 PM.
