CLAYTON — St. Louis County on Thursday formally rescinded a mask mandate thrown into question late last month by a Missouri judge’s ruling barring such COVID-19 health orders.
Dr. Faisal Khan, acting public health director, wrote in a public notice that the county’s Sept. 27 mask order was “now rescinded,†because the county did not expect the state to appeal the ruling from Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green.
Khan also cited the County Council’s decision to twice block a vote to approve a new mask order that he requested Nov. 30.
“I will continue to strongly recommend that St. Louis County residents and guests wear masks indoors in public spaces,†Khan said. “Masks save lives.â€
The county first revealed the move during a court hearing in a lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt to block the county’s mask orders. Schmitt sued the county in July to block an earlier mask order, citing a new state law requiring local legislators to reapprove such health orders every 30 days.
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Neal F. Perryman, an attorney representing the county, said Thursday that he would file a motion asking the court to declare Schmitt’s lawsuit moot because there is no longer a mask order in effect.
“We don’t think we can have that order up anymore and we want to make clear that it’s not viable anymore,†Perryman said.
Schmitt, in a statement, called the decision “a huge win for the citizens of St. Louis County and the people of Missouri.â€
“Although we have consistently held that St. Louis County’s mask mandates were illegally imposed in the first place, this is the right move and is consistent with the recent judgment from the Cole County Circuit Court,†Schmitt said.
Schmitt, who is one of several candidates for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, sent letters this week to local governments and public schools demanding they immediately end COVID-19 health orders following Green’s ruling.
The Nov. 23 ruling by Green said local health orders aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 should be lifted because they violate the state constitution’s separation of powers clause, affecting the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Green struck state regulations dealing with health orders, declaring them “null and void.â€
DHSS Director Donald Kauerauf told local health agencies that the Cole County order would take effect on Dec. 22 and advised them to consult their own attorneys. Kauerauf asked Schmitt to appeal the ruling, but Schmitt declined.
St. Louis officials said Thursday that the city’s mask mandate still stands because the Board of Aldermen has supported the mask order. Schmitt has argued the mask order expired because aldermen didn’t reapprove it in time; the case is pending in St. Louis Circuit Court.
In St. Louis County, however, mask mandates have faced opposition from a council majority of Republicans and two Democrats often critical of Page.
The majority — Rita Heard Days, D-1st District; Tim Fitch, R-3rd District; Mark Harder, R-7th District; Shalonda Webb, D-4th District; and Ernie Trakas, R-6th District — voted July 27 to rescind a mask order issued the day before, complaining that Page didn’t go through them. Lisa Clancy, D-5th District; and Kelli Dunaway, D-2nd District, voted to uphold the order. A judge days later granted Schmitt a temporary restraining order blocking the mandate.
In late August, Webb and Days joined Clancy and Dunaway in voting to support a mask mandate, following weeks of criticism from other Democrats and testimony from heath officials that masks help limit the spread of the airborne coronavirus. Khan then issued a new order Sept. 27, which a judge let stand.
After Green’s Nov. 23 ruling, the county took the mask order off its public website, but Page insisted the order remained in effect. Meanwhile, Page sought County Council approval of a new mask order that would stay in place after Dec. 22, citing an expected rise in COVID-19 cases as people gather for the holidays and colder weather keeps people indoors.
But on Tuesday, Council Chair Days blocked a request from Clancy for a vote on Khan’s request for a new countywide mask mandate.
Days upheld objections to the vote from council Republicans. Fitch argued Green’s ruling required the county to issue health measures through legislation, not by order. And he said a new mandate would violate the state law limiting health orders to 30 days within any 180-day period if they don’t get local politicians’ approval.
Page on Thursday acknowledged the Sept. 27 mask order was withdrawn, but urged continued masking:
“Because of the Cole County order & the council’s decision not to approve a new face covering order, the Dept. of Public Health director this morning rescinded the prior face covering order. The Health Dept. continues to recommend masks in indoor settings. Covid cases are rising.â€
The rolling seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in the county as of Tuesday, the latest date data was available. The average was 237 just a month ago.
This week, the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force warned of a steep increase in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 amid staffing shortages. That combination was causing long waits in emergency rooms. The Task Force reported the seven-day average of St. Louis-area patients hospitalized with COVID-19 was 454 on Thursday, climbing from 228 just a month ago.
Thomas Bow walks past a sign advertising handmade masks for sale outside Dos Resale Boutique in Clayton on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and Acting Public Health Director Faisal Khan on Monday issued a new county-wide mask order requiring face coverings in public places indoors and on public transportation for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals 5 and older. "It isn't like we are asking them to wear a space suit," says Dos owner, Tina Axton, who has been requiring customers wear masks inside her store even without a mandate. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Jennifer Hellwig was among a group of Rockwood parents who walked their children to Geggie Elementary without wearing masks on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021 in Eureka.
They said a vote would violate a recent ruling by a Cole County judge as well as the county’s own procedures for handling legislation.
The attorney general already said he would not seek an appeal, leaving local health departments in flux.Â
The Cole County order is set to take effect Dec. 22, says DHSS Director Don Kauerauf.
A Cole County judge last week declared public health orders related to COVID-19 were ‘null and void.’
Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green on Nov. 23 ruled that all health orders related to the spread of COVID-19 in the state should be lifted.
