Douglas County mask mandate will continue until May 26

A mask mandate and social distancing rules will remain in Douglas County until May 26 after county commissioners unanimously approved an updated public health order Wednesday.

Per the order, customers must maintain 6 feet of distance from each other and wear masks at all businesses. Bars and restaurants must limit indoor capacity to 50%. 

Businesses can opt out of the capacity regulation by notifying the Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health Department via written notice and posting a sign at their front entrance. Regardless, no business can opt out of the county’s social distancing or mask wearing requirements. 

The order, originally set to expire May 19, will now be revisited on May 26 after concerns were raised about the potential effect of the two graduation ceremonies the University of Kansas will hold in May and the potential spread of COVID-19 in the community. 

Public Health Officer Thomas Marcellino said masks and social distancing are two of the least restrictive ways to continue keeping residents safe. While Douglas County is currently the most vaccinated Kansas county, Marcellino said safety precautions must continue while many residents still remain unvaccinated. 

As of April 8, Douglas County had administered 47,773 first doses of the vaccine and 26,994 second doses. 

“We’re coming really close to hopefully getting a firm handle on this as we move into the future,” Marcellino said. “We’ve really been wowed by how the community has come together and done what’s needed to be done to protect the citizens and minimize the damage of the virus that has just upturned our lives. One of the cornerstones of really doing this is the use of public health orders.” 

As of Wednesday, Douglas County had 236 active cases with five patients at LMH Health. Thirteen new cases were reported since Monday. 

LMH Health physician Jennifer Schrimsher presented data to the commission that confirmed the effectiveness of mask usage and social distancing. According to a study Schrimsher cited, 13 states that enforced mask mandates before reopening prevented more than 50,000 deaths within six weeks. Flu numbers in Douglas County also saw a large decrease this year, with a total of three known flu cases for the year. 

Schrimsher said that while vaccination numbers in the county are going up, so are the case numbers of the UK-originated COVID-19 variant for teenagers, many of whom are not vaccinated yet. 

“I can’t really stress this enough, but we will start to see increasing numbers of variants,” Schrimser said. “We already have variants in Douglas County. We’re going to have to be very careful at preventing transmission because it’s kind of like another wildfire burning through.” 

Commissioner Shannon Portillo said it’s important to consider medical expertise on the matter.

“I think it’s also really important for us to consider where evidence is coming from, so I do appreciate what the CDC, as a public-funded institution, is providing as well as our own Health Department here in the state of Kansas,” she said. “I think that it’s been really clear to see the evidence on masks and how to slow down and prevent the spread of this respiratory illness.”

The new public health order can be found here. https://ldchealth.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=390&fbclid=IwAR0DCGyDq_z0HV77GUdXRKvNzaEswz-N66Mzv3nFpI1FTu7ETjiY4l7bvaA