Wichita city council members have voted to extend the city’s order requiring masks in public places through October 21st.
The council heard from close to 120 speakers in a marathon public comment session that lasted around seven hours on Tuesday, with a great majority of them urging the council to end the mask order. Some of the speakers said they have faced discrimination for not wearing masks when they can’t because of health conditions. Others talked about the order affecting personal freedom.
Sedgwick County has an order from its health officer, Dr. Garold Minns, that will expire on October 21st. City council members James Clendenin and Becky Tuttle said they want to end the city’s involvement in the issue and turn decisions back over to the county commission, which acts as the Sedgwick County Board of Health.
Council members originally voted 4-3 to approve an amendment to end the mask order before October 21st if the city reaches two key health metrics before that date. One would involve a drop to a five percent positive test rate for the coronavirus, and the other would be if cases and hospitalizations drop to a point where the city and county are considered to be in a “green” area for COVID-19.
Mayor Brandon Whipple and council members Jeff Blubaugh and James Clendenin voted against the motion. Whipple said he was concerned about the mask order ending automatically before the council had a chance to consider it again, and that was why he voted no on the amendment for the health metrics.
The council had a second vote at the end of the meeting to clarify their decision to extend the order, and that was approved 5-2 with Blubaugh and Clendenin voting no.
