Cities, Callaway County issue joint mask recommendation

Holts Summit Mayor Landon Oxley, left, signs a joint mask recommendation while Fulton Mayor Lowe Cannell and Kingdom City City Manager Curt Warfield look on.
Holts Summit Mayor Landon Oxley, left, signs a joint mask recommendation while Fulton Mayor Lowe Cannell and Kingdom City City Manager Curt Warfield look on.

Representatives of Callaway County and each of the county's municipal areas issued a joint masking recommendation Wednesday.

"The Callaway County Health Department and local government officials encourage face coverings to help slow and prevent the spread of COVID-19," the statement reads, in part.

"According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), face masks are a tool used in combating the spread of COVID-19," it continues. "Evidence suggests cloth face coverings aid in preventing people who have COVID-19 from spreading it to others. Because some individuals infected with the virus have no symptoms or may not develop symptoms for five to six days on average, wearing a face mask while in public is an approach we can use to reduce and stop the spread of COVID-19."

The statement encourages the community to continue following other health guidelines, such as frequent hand-washing, cough and sneeze etiquette, and avoiding touching one's eyes, nose and mouth.

The Callaway County Health Department (representing Callaway County's government), city of Fulton, city of Holts Summit, village of Kingdom City, city of New Bloomfield, city of Mokane and city of Auxvasse signed on to the "unified statement," as Fulton Mayor Lowe Cannell described it.

"The Board of Trustees agreed unanimously that we should encourage masks, with the traffic coming off the interstate and highway," said Curt Warfield, Kingdom City's city manager. "I hope this encourages businesses to do what they have to do."

Holts Summit Mayor Landon Oxley said he signed on to the recommendation in part because he thinks choosing whether to wear a mask should be the responsibility of the individual in the absence of a statewide or federal mandate.

CCHD Director Sharon Lynch presented the statement during a news conference Wednesday at Fulton City Hall.

Lynch clarified that masks are not mandatory in Callaway County, pointing to the statement's language: "As government officials, we respect and embrace individual rights and acknowledge that individual responsibility is prudent during this pandemic, in order to limit the risk of spreading the coronavirus within the community."

When asked whether the Health Department would consider mandating mask-wearing, she said that's above her pay-grade.

"I'm not in charge of that decision," Lynch said. "Each entity would be in charge of mandating that."

Nevertheless, she encouraged area residents to mask up, especially in situations where maintaining 6 feet of physical distance from other individuals is impossible.

"I think more people need to wear them, and we need to be considerate of others, not just ourselves," she said. "It will reduce the spread of (COVID-19)."

Lynch noted that when she wears a mask in public, it seems to encourage others to stay the recommended distance away from her.

The conference followed a July 21 public forum in Fulton, during which Fulton City Council members initially floated the idea of issuing a joint statement with other area governments. The council voted to issue its own recommendation that night.

As of Tuesday, Callaway County had 119 known COVID-19 cases, 38 of which were active.

"The virus doesn't understand city limits," said Fulton Director of Administration Bill Johnson of the need for unity between Callaway County's municipalities.