The Unified Government Commission voted 6-4 on Thursday night to end the mask mandate at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16.
The mask mandate had been scheduled to last through Jan. 6. It applied only to indoor public places in Kansas City, Kansas, and did not apply to Bonner Springs and Edwardsville. It also did not apply to school districts, where school boards decided the issue.
The UG Health Department presented information Thursday showing that COVID-19 rates are currently increasing in the county, and hospitals are getting fuller.
Two newly elected commissioners, Chuck Stites and Andrew Davis, voted to end the mask mandate.
The vote on ending the mask mandate was Commissioner Angela Markley, no; Chuck Stites, yes; Andrew Davis, yes, Melissa Bynum, yes, Tom Burroughs, yes; Gayle Townsend, no; Brian McKiernan, yes; Christian Ramirez, no; Harold Johnson, no; and Mike Kane, yes.
According to Health Department officials, only 47.4 percent of Wyandotte County residents have completed their vaccinations. About 56 percent of residents have received at least one dose.
“The news today came out that we do have the Omicron variant here in Kansas,” Dr. Erin Corriveau, deputy health officer for Wyandotte County, told the commission. The Omicron variant spreads faster than the other variants, she said.
When the area’s COVID cases spiked in October, they did not go down as low as hoped after that, she said.
“This is extremely concerning. We’re seeing also hospitals across the metro area, with even steeper rises,” she said.
She read a statement from Dr. Steven Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Hospital, who said the volume of COVID inpatients at the hospital continues to climb and is going through the community at a rate faster than they have seen so far in the pandemic.
Without masks, coupled with low rates of vaccination and the rise of the Omicron variant, they are concerned with the facility being overwhelmed, he said. When the hospital reaches its capacity, it limits the hospital’s ability to treat others, including those who have heart attacks and strokes, and there are not enough resources to take care of them, he said.
Dr. Allen Greiner, chief health officer of Wyandotte County, said they know that things are going to get worse because of the holidays, people will gather together inside, and there has already been a surge.
With waning immunity, people are more vulnerable every day, according to Dr. Greiner. Many people think they’re protected, but they’re not, he added.
If you smoke, it’s their job to tell you that it’s bad for you, he said. If you run red lights, it’s also their job to say it’s not good for you. If you’re in a meeting now and not wearing a mask, it’s like running a red light, he added.
Dr. Greiner said Wyandotte County had led the fight against COVID from the start, and has been on the cutting edge of progress against the virus.
“It’s pretty amazing this little tiny county has been the one to show the rest of the metro area how to do this properly,” he said.
The UG received six public comments during the meeting, with only one in favor of lifting the mask order.
Margaret Hart, a resident, said, “That is a very small ask, to wear a mask.”
She said the community should keep the mask order for as long as it needs to.
Another resident said people are going elsewhere to shop because of the mask order, and was for rescinding the mask order.
State Sen. David Haley also spoke and supported the mask mandate and the doctors. He urged the commission to continue to lead the charge and help Wyandotte County be at the forefront of showing how to protect themselves and their citizens.
Commissioner Christian Ramirez said he could not vote against the mask mandate, because he would be turning his back on the health workers on the front lines of the fight against COVID. Wearing a mask is a small ask compared to what these health workers are experiencing every single day, he said.
Commissioner Gayle Townsend said the only significant thing that happened since they voted on this same issue about a month ago was that there is a new variant, Omicron. When they extended the mask order a month ago, “we were ahead of the curve,” she said.
Cases are increasing now, not decreasing, around the country and in Wyandotte County, she said. She favored continuing the mask order.
Who knows what will be next in another month, she asked.
Commissioner Brian McKiernan, who voted to lift the mask mandate, said he was split on how to vote.
“I’ve given up hope,” he said, in the face of some obstacles and the attitude out there of “you ain’t the boss of me.”
The UG’s mask mandate doesn’t apply to private homes, where people most often gather in the holidays, he said. Also, at bars and restaurants, the mask mandate allowed people to take their masks off to eat.
He said until the UG has more robust enforcement and is willing to use it, a large proportion of the population would continue to ignore the mask mandate.
“As I prepare to take this vote, I fear the very real possibility that I or a member of my family might be denied urgent or emergency care simply because the number of COVID patients has overwhelmed our local hospitals and no medical resources remain,” McKiernan said.
Commissioner Mike Kane said people here are not abiding by the current mask mandate.
“People are tired of being told to have to wear a mask,” he said.
He said a restaurant owner told him that he used to enforce the mask mandate but right now, he couldn’t.
Commissioner Kane said people in business have suffered enough, and the mask mandate is the wrong thing to do.
Commissioner Harold Johnson, who is a pastor, said he has had to bury persons who have died from COVID because they refused to wear a mask. He helps people try to navigate their lives now that their loved ones are gone.
He said the commissioners, except McKiernan, had already made up their minds.
“I’m concerned about my family, I’m concerned about my own health,” he said. Citizens in his district have reached out to him to ask him to keep the mask mandate, he added.
Commissioner Gayle Townsend said that wearing masks is inconvenient at times and everyone may be suffering from mask fatigue. “But that is not a reason to drop the mask mandate,” she said.
She would not want to see any friends or family members get ill or die, when wearing a mask would be so much simpler, she said.
“Now is not the time to give up, we need to keep the mask mandate in place right now,” she said.
Commissioner Andrew Davis said this is not about the science or the data. He said it is a “political world conversation.”
“We have lost political will in our community,” he said. He did not see the point in continuing the mandate, knowing all the variables they cannot control, he said.
Commissioner Melissa Bynum asked if could organizations and businesses still require masks inside their buildings.
James Bain, UG attorney, said they would still be able to make their own decisions inside their facilities on their own property.
On a question of enforcement, the UG has not written any tickets for the crime of violating a health order, he said. The focus was on educating businesses and individuals.
“Everywhere I go, in Wyandotte County or outside Wyandotte County, people are not masking,” Commissioner Bynum said.
People are not paying attention to the mandate any more, she said.
She said her email was running 50-50 from those for and against keeping the mask mandate.
Also, she said a KCK Chamber survey on Thursday showed 60 percent in favor of eliminating the mask mandate and 40 percent in favor of keeping it.
She said it was time to stop mandating masks. She added she was going to continue wearing her mask everywhere.
Commissioner Chuck Stites said Wyandotte County was the only place continuing the mask mandate, and shoppers were leaving for other areas.
From Edwardsville, Stites said he was thankful the UG decided to let Bonner Springs and Edwardsville decide for themselves on a mask mandate. They don’t have one.
He said he applauded people who wear their mask to other communities. “You’re taking care of yourself. Let me worry about myself,” he said.
He added he would have rather lifted the mask mandate at 7:59 p.m. Dec. 16 than at 11:59 p.m.
Bravo WYCo! You’ve rejoined America and are back to honoring citizens and respecting their individual liberties. Thank you for ending the mask mandate.
Everywhere they didn’t lock down, and require masks, are doing far better than the areas that did. Also in my research of response to COVID-19 around the world, the places that allowed treatment with off the shelf medicines such as Ivermectin Hydroxycloroquine and a number of other over the counter meds. found the death rates dropped way off. But, in this and other countries where the drug companies hold sway over the government, it’s not allowed. I even heard from one doctor using these methods, that over 200 members of Congress had also been treated with Ivermectin. My two Congressmen never answered my inquiry if this was true. People are sheep for the most part and just do what they are told and that is exactly what the one worlders are counting on.
Again the commissioners are not listening to the facts and are afraid to make a stand for the people and do the right thing – yes we are all tired of wearing mask and if they would have continued and worked harder to enforce it back in the Spring when numbers were dropping then maybe we wouldn’t see the rise we are now seeing and will continue to see – are they wanting everyone to die or have other health problem the rest of their lives – they were elected to help people and the community and maybe the majority of the people are against it but does that always make it right – get a back bone and stand up for what’s right, not for what’s easy
Too bad I already spent all my money shopping for Christmas in other counties that didn’t have their mandate anymore.
Hospitals are telling the real results of not trying to mask individuals and ignore the safety of the public. I feel it is premature to make the mask change at this time. Time will tell. Hopefully not too many more will die.