Sedgwick County commissioners have voted to affirm the new health order that was signed this week by the county’s health officer, Dr. Garold Minns.

The order still requires people to wear masks in public spaces, but there are exemptions for people with health issues and for children age 5 and under.   The order also allows bars and nightclubs to reopen at 50 percent of fire code capacity, and they will have to close at 11 p.m.  They can continue to offer carryout and pickup service after that time.   Public gatherings will still be limited to groups of 15 people that will have to be spaced at least six feet apart.

Dr. Minns told commissioners that he would prefer not to require masks and close businesses, but the goal is to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and there are limited tools to accomplish that.   He said the new health order stays with phase two of Governor Laura Kelly’s Ad Astra plan for economic recovery.

Commissioner Jim Howell wanted to raise the age for the child exemption to 11, but his motion failed for lack of a second.   He moved to allow schools and day care facilities to make their own decisions on the wearing of masks, and that motion failed 2-3 with only Howell and Michael O’Donnell voting for it.    Commissioner David Dennis said he talked with officials from several school districts and they were unanimous in wanting a uniform requirement, rather than having a number of different decisions across the county.

Dr. Minns said the main concern regarding children is their ability to transmit the disease, and there is still a lack of information on that.    He said it’s not known why children see little or no effects from COVID-19.   He said there’s no hard evidence on the age for children to wear masks, but the standard has been around 5 years.

The vote to affirm Dr. Minns’ order was 3-2, with Howell and O’Donnell voting no.