Page to end St. Louis County’s mask mandate on Monday | Politics

St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said Wednesday morning that he will be ending the county’s mask mandate at 8 a.m. Monday.

As COVID-19 numbers in the region continue to decline, Page said he was now moving to a recommendation — not an order — that people wear face coverings.

Page made his announcement at a news briefing Wednesday. He walked to the microphone wearing a mask and removed it before talking.

“The virus remains very much among us, but it’s not nearly at the dangerous levels it was just two months ago,” he said.

At the beginning of January, the county’s seven-day average of daily new cases was 2,700. Today, the county is down to under 130, he said. The positivity rate is now under 10% after being three times higher, Page said. And hospitals are reporting relief in their COVID admissions and intensive-care units.

“Based on these trends, we are confident we can end our mask mandate on Monday,” he said. “I’m announcing it today to give our schools and businesses time to determine how they want to move forward.”

Missouri Attorney General Schmitt, who has challenged the mask mandate in court, said in a statement that Page was “rescinding an already illegal mandate.”

Schmitt has argued that people should have the freedom to choose what is best for them and their families.

“The government has no authority to force them to wear a mask or get vaccinated,” Schmitt said in January.

At his news conference Wednesday, Page recounted the highlights of the county’s response to COVID-19, including how the state’s first confirmed case was in the county and the ups and downs with mask rules.

“As an elected official, I could have taken the easy road and done nothing, but as a doctor, there’s no way I could do that,” Page said. “I’ve taken grief from COVID deniers and listened to anti-vaxxers spread their dangerous lies and misinformation. Criticism always comes with the job.”

Page said he was “cautiously optimistic” about how things are going.

“With the mask mandate, a continued effort to get more people vaccinated and the virus weakening, we’re in a much better place today,” Page said.

Sixty-two percent of county residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and a total 70% have had at least one dose of the vaccine.

The mandate required face coverings in public places indoors and on public transportation for vaccinated and unvaccinated people ages 5 and older. Despite the order, many people could be seen ignoring it and there wasn’t really an enforcement mechanism in place.

Missouri has not had a statewide mask requirement, but St. Louis County was among local Democratic-led jurisdictions with one.

Nick Dunne, a spokesman for St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, didn’t say whether the city has similar plans to end the mandate early. The city’s current indoor mask mandate is set to expire March 6 and “we are deferring to the expertise of the (city) health department for the next steps.”

“We’re going to continue to talk with them,” Dunne said.

Mask mandates have ignited public debate and confusion about the legality and enforceability of such orders.

Last Friday, a judge turned down Schmitt’s request for a preliminary injunction against the county’s mask mandate and dismissed three of four counts in the state’s lawsuit alleging the public health order was unlawful.

The same allegation had been made by St. Louis County Republicans and vocal anti-mask and anti-vaccine mandate protesters who had packed weekly County Council meetings to complain about the mask order.

Council Republicans Tim Fitch, Mark Harder and Ernie Trakas have not worn masks in council chambers and argued that the order was unenforceable because a county judge had barred the county from applying criminal penalties for violation.

On Tuesday, Trakas asked the council to vote to overturn the mask mandate — immediately.

Page had said last week that he would lift the mask mandate by the end of the month because health officials expected COVID-19 cases to decline to moderate levels.

Trakas said they were “late to the party by a longshot.”

“We have in St. Louis County a mandate in name only,” he said.

“You go into any retail store, any restaurant, any location where people are gathered, and people are unmasked … so let’s just do what is long overdue and undo what should have never been done.”

The vote failed 3-4 along party lines. Democrats Rita Days, Lisa Clancy, Kelli Dunaway and Shalonda Webb voted against the move.

On Wednesday, Fitch argued Page had no power to lift the mask mandate alone but “wanted to take credit.”

A County Council majority of Democrats had voted Jan. 4 to approve the mask mandate; Fitch argued another council vote would be required to end it.

“If there was truly a mask mandate in place, it was enacted by the council, not by Sam Page,” Fitch said. “How can Sam Page undo what the council had to vote in?”

Still, Page said Wednesday the mandate could return.

“We would need to see an extraordinary rise in cases again,” he said. “We would need to hear the Pandemic Task Force, the CDC and our public Health Department sounding the alarm. Right now, we don’t see anything like that in the future. But we’ll listen and we’ll watch.”

St. Louis County offers COVID-19 testing and vaccination at its three public health clinics. Appointments can be made at ReviveSTL.com.

Mark Schlinkmann of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.