By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
While the Ellis County Commission supports an individual's right to wear a mask, it does not support a mandate handed down by the governor this week requiring all Kansans to wear a mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The commission, serving as the county board of health, held a special meeting Thursday afternoon in response to Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order requiring that all Kansans wear a mask in public spaces. The commission voted unanimously to not require Ellis County residents to wear a mask.
Ellis County Health Director Jason Kennedy told the commission that while the requirement that all Kansans wear masks in public is an extremely divisive issue, he does not serve a political party — only the Ellis County residents.
“I’m not sure there are right answers,” Kennedy said. “I’m not sure there is anything that is a perfect yes (or) no.”
Kennedy said the mandate has to be viewed as a health agenda, and that does not just include physical health, that also includes mental, social and financial health.
“There is no doubt that face masks work, in certain situations and in certain places” Kennedy said. “Masks work inside a home where you have close or high-population density. They work in areas of high viral load.”
Kennedy said there are questions about what kind of impact masks have in places like Ellis County. Places with low population density and with “extremely low” community spread.
“I think we should encourage, I think we should support and I think we should allow businesses and individuals to make a choice to protect themselves, the patrons of their business and those around them,” Kennedy. “Saying it’s OK to make your decision to wear a mask absolutely should be universal across the board.”
Kennedy also said when it comes to county’s response to the pandemic, it would not require masks when in public.
“We have eight active cases, we have zero hospitalizations and, thankfully, we have zero deaths,” Kennedy said. “Our hospital capacity is sufficient to handle anything that we have at this point.”
Kennedy also pointed to the county’s positive test rate as another reason not to mandate masks at this time.
According to Kennedy, Ellis County’s positive test rate is only 1 percent — meaning only 1 percent of those people tested in Ellis County have tested positive for coronavirus.
The statewide average is approximately 8 percent. He said health officials become concerned when the positive rate is nearing 10 percent.
Ellis County Commissioner Dustin Roths said he would echo Kennedy’s statement.
“I would encourage anybody who wants to wear a mask, that might be at risk, that may be around other people and not be able to social distance for a period of time, feel free (to wear a mask),” Roths said. “We’d actually probably encourage it.”
All three commissioners said while they heard from a lot of people on the issue, they were not in favor of mandating face masks.
“If you feel threatened at all when you are out in public or at a gathering, please do wear a mask,” said Commissioner Dean Haselhorst. “I encourage you to do that.”
There was one member of the community who addressed the commission.
Cheryl Duffy, addressed the commission while wearing a mask and told the commission, “You can probably tell by my mask where I stand on this issue.”
Duffy told the commission, as a person who is at risk of contracting the virus, that she does not feel safe shopping in Hays.
She said she believes that the commission was saying they will wait until there are a lot of cases of the coronavirus in Ellis County and said, “that doesn’t seem smart to me.”
Roths said he had two relatives that contracted the virus and said they had no problems.
“In Ellis County, we’ve been very lucky. We’re naturally socially distanced because we don’t live on top of each other like New York City,” Roths said.
“I hope you feel, in Ellis County, you’re a lot safer than you would be in an apartment building in Kansas City,” Roths said.
Commissioner Butch Schyler said that the number of people who contacted him that were opposed to the mask mandate was substantial.
“They don’t want to be told that they have to wear it, that sense of independence in this part of the country, people just thrive on,” said Schlyer. “They don’t want to be dictated too and mandated too, especially by some bureaucrat in the far-distant land.
“I happen to be one of those people too,” said Schlyer.