MO county abruptly overturns mask mandate
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HILLSBORO, MO (KMOV ) — After narrowly approving a mask mandate at Thursday night’s Jefferson County Health Department Board meeting, the board has abruptly overturned its decision.
The health department told News 4 that the mandate has been overturned by a 5-0 vote during an emergency meeting after concerns surfaced that the board didn’t properly notify the public prior to the meeting that the mandate would be discussed and voted on.
The health board initially approved the mandate in a meeting Thursday night that lasted more than five hours by a 3-2 vote.
State Representative Mary Elizabeth Coleman said her office sent a letter to the health department saying she would prepare to file a lawsuit over the lack of public notification about Thursday’s meeting.
“No matter what crisis we are facing it is imperative that our rights are protected and we demand transparency from the political institutions that work on behalf of taxpayers,” Coleman tweeted. She also spoke about her concerns that Friday’s emergency meeting also didn’t follow proper procedures.
The mandate was supposed to go into effect Monday, August 31 for those aged 5 and above in public places that can’t accommodate at least six feet of social distancing.
Suzy Davis, a member of the county’s health department board, strongly opposed a mask mandate in the county. County Executive Dennis Gannon released a statement earlier Friday saying he is “not fully convinced that a mask/face covering mandate is entirely necessary at this time.”
Currently, Jefferson County has a positivity rate of 11.6%. The state of Missouri has a 7-day positivity rate of 12.3%.
“I do believe that such a measure will certainly be difficult to enforce,” Gannon said. “However, as the County Executive I fully respect the Health Board’s decisions. I continue to recommend that everyone take the necessary personal actions to mitigate the virus and assist in fighting infectious disease throughout our County.”
Several businesses News 4 crews talked to said they were worried about the mandate.
“A lot of people don’t want to be told to wear a mask,” Sherry Dobbs said. She manages The Boro restaurant in Hillsboro.
The restaurant just opened last week and now with a mask mandate, Dobbs wonders if anyone will come in.
“I would like to see more dine-in customers, but if they’re going to mandate the mask, then probably not,” Dobbs said.
St. Louis City and County are they only counties in our area that have enacted a mask mandate. St. Charles County has declined to put a mandate in place, instead asking businesses to make masks mandatory for service.
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