Over vocal opposition, Jackson County legislature extends mask mandate into October
Jackson County legislators voted 6-3 Monday to extend the county’s mask order until Oct. 7.
The one-month extension came after a sometimes raucous 45-minute public hearing in which only one of the 18 people who asked to speak voiced support for the one-month extension.
The public health order issued by County Executive Frank White requires everyone age 5 or older to wear masks inside public places, whether or not they have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.
The restrictions apply in rural parts of the county and cities other than Kansas City and Independence, which have their own health departments that set the rules. Kansas City imposed a citywide mask order last month, and recently extended it until Sept. 23. Independence limited its mask requirements to all buildings owned or controlled by city government, such as City Hall, the Truman Memorial Building and Cable Dahmer Arena, but then quickly rescinded that order.
A new state law limits local public health orders to 30 days, unless they are extended by the elected governing body.
County legislators Ron Finley and Charlie Franklin joined the measure’s sponsors — Jalen Anderson, Tony Miller, Crystal Williams and Scott Burnett — in approving the extension. Legislators Dan Tarwater, Theresa Galvin and Jeanie Lauer voted against an extension.
In explaining his support of an extension, Anderson cited the toll that COVID-19 has taken on his own family and friends. He said 23 people he knew had died and three of his cousins are in the hospital on ventilators.
No one likes wearing masks, Anderson said, but he said masks have helped slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“Sometimes we have to do things we dislike,” he said.
Burnett read from a statement that centered on the severe threat posed by the more transmissible and deadlier Delta variant that has filled emergency rooms across Missouri and poses a threat to school children under age 12, who are not eligible for the vaccines against the virus.
“Now that schools are open, the Delta variant is coming to get them,” he said.
Burnett countered the argument that mask requirements are unconstitutional and impinge on people’s liberty by saying a lot of the rules governing public health and order are not specifically cited in the country’s founding documents. But we stop at stop signs, obey seat belt laws and adhere to other rules meant to protect us and others.
Health director Bridgette Shaffer said the extension was needed due to the rising caseload in COVID-19 patients at a time when too many remain unvaccinated. As of last week, she said, only 43 percent of county residents were fully vaccinated and 49 percent had received at least one shot.
Along with other local jurisdictions, the county had ended its COVID-19 restrictions nearly four months ago in accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC said back in May that people who were fully vaccinated need not wear a mask inside or outside under most circumstances.
But on July 27, the CDC reversed course as transmissions and hospitalizations began to spike in Missouri and other areas where many residents had chosen not to get the shots and were subsequently infected.
The federal agency now advises that even people who have received the vaccine wear a mask indoors in areas of substantial or high transmission “to maximize protection from the delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others.”
Vaccinated people can spread the virus, even if they show no symptoms. Some also get sick from it, although it is rare for those who have gotten the shots to require medical care. People who haven’t been vaccinated, however, are at much greater risk and are now filling emergency rooms and intensive care units across the country.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sued Jackson County, Kansas City and St. Louis County for reimposing their mask orders, calling the mandates arbitrary, capricious and unlawful. The litigation is still pending.
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 12:07 PM.
