JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — The Jefferson County Health Department Board of Trustees voted to approve a mask mandate in the county in an attempt to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
The health board voted three to two in favor of a new health order, which also includes social distancing measures and crowd limits, at the end of a meeting that lasted more than five hours and got heated at times. The meeting was streamed on Facebook Thursday night.
The mandate takes effect Monday. Anyone ages 5 and up will be required to wear masks in public places when they can’t be more than six feet apart. The health order also puts limits on crowd sizes, based on building capacity and the ability to keep a 6-foot distance. It will remain in effect through the board's next meeting, Sept. 25, when they could extend it or end it, depending on what the numbers show.
Medical experts, including those with the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force say wearing a mask is crucial to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Those opposed say it should be a personal choice to wear a mask.
Board member Suzy Davis, who has perpetuated misinformation about a cure for the coronavirus, objected to the need for a mask mandate again Thursday. She said during the meeting people aren't dying anymore and the virus "will end." The health department reported five new COVID-19 deaths Thursday.
Board chair Dennis Diehl said her opinions are not health department policy. "It’s pretty much the opposite," he said at the meeting, telling her, "You are living in a fantasy world where you think this virus is just going to go away."
Diehl had previously accused Davis of leading "what I can only describe as an effort to assassinate the character of the JCHD Director and of the Department itself."
Previous Jefferson County health board meetings on the topic lasted several hours with no vote taken.
Thursday, the majority of the board came to the conclusion that weeks of issuing only recommendations weren't helping slow the spread of the virus. Cases are still going up, and the health director says it’s now at the point where contact tracers can’t keep up with the new cases coming in.
"Public health is not about politics. We are here to protect people. Our primary goal is to prevent illness in the community. This is a huge win for being able to stop the spread of covid in our community and to be able to get back in front of it," health director Kelley Vollmar said.
On Wednesday, the county health department posted on Facebook, asking anyone who tested positive or was exposed to someone who tested positive to self-isolate until receiving a call from the health department.
"This means staying home," the department said in a Facebook post. "Do not go to work, school, church, the gym or the grocery store."
However, Jefferson County Executive Dennis Gannon said he is not "fully convinced" a mask mandate is necessary.
"I do believe that such a measure will certainly be difficult to enforce," Gannon said in a statement Friday. "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.
"While there is ample disagreement in how or whether we fight the virus with masks, certainly taking reasonable steps to fight the virus before us is imperative."
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 2,486 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Jefferson County Thursday, an increase of 69 from the number reported by the state health department Tuesday.
The county says 45 people have died from COVID-19. There were five new deaths Thursday.
