������Ƶ

In an order issued 24 hours after the counties had filed briefs asking for the right to intervene in the case, Circuit Judge Daniel Green denied their requests.

The action came a month after Green invalidated regulations imposed by state and local health departments in connection with the deadly virus. That decision has led to school districts dropping mask mandates and counties lifting health restrictions at a time when a new variant of the disease is spreading rapidly.

In torpedoing the request by St. Louis, Jackson, Jefferson, Cooper and Livingston counties, Green sided with Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who said in a court filing Tuesday that he is the only person who can intervene in the decision.

Although Schmitt has already said some school districts have begun dropping health orders like mask rules and quarantines, he said the ruling sets the stage for him to begin enforcing the decision for those districts and local governments that have not complied.

“We have informed local public health authorities and school districts multiple times about the ruling, including 52 cease-and-desist letters to noncompliant school districts, ordering them to cease enforcement of mask mandates and quarantine orders. Since those letters were sent out, a number of school districts have ceased or plan to cease mask mandates and quarantine orders,” Schmitt said.

“Now that the ruling is final, noncompliant school districts and local public health authorities should rescind public health orders covered under the ruling or face litigation from the Attorney General’s Office. We plan to begin enforcement action on noncompliant entities as soon as January,” he added.

Representatives of the counties that sued, however, are not so sure the ruling is the final word on the contentious issue.

Attorney Stephen Jeffery, who is representing Cooper and Livingston counties, said he believes the latest decision could be appealed. But, he said he hadn’t consulted with his clients yet.

Doug Moore, spokesman for St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, said the ruling could allow the county to keep the case alive.

“It is no surprise, and now we have a path to appeal,” Moore said.

The counties appealed Green’s Nov. 22 ruling, arguing that the decision created “chaos” among health officials.

“Few public health officials, local government leaders, and school boards have any idea what they are legally permitted to do or are legally prohibited from doing,” attorneys for St. Louis and Jackson counties said in their briefs.

Health department officials in Cooper and Livingston counties also sought to intervene, saying Green’s decision failed to identify how local health agencies were not complying with the law, leaving them confused about what they are able to do in times of a pandemic or other health emergency.

Schmitt, who was defending the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services in a case brought by a St. Louis resident, a church and a restaurant owner, declined to appeal Green’s decision, despite the agency’s urging.

Schmitt, a Republican, is running for the U.S. Senate on a platform that includes opposing health-related mandates for masks and vaccines.

Schmitt says the state constitution allows only his office to request an appeal of the case.

Originally posted at 11:51 a.m. Wednesday.