Monday marked the first day of the reinstated mask mandate in the St. Louis region, one of the first in the state to return to pandemic health orders, as the Delta variant spread throughout the country and made its way into Missouri.
In a media conference Monday morning, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page spoke about the reason why the mandate was reinstated and explained the political posturing they believe is occurring with right wing politicians when it comes to efforts to derail mask mandates and vaccination efforts.
“Even if you aren’t concerned for yourself, think about the people in your life and in the region who need to be protected from the virus.” — Mayor Tishaura Jones
“Creating distractions for political gain is short-sighted at best and life-threatening at worst,” Page said. “As some supporters of the previous president hold on tight to bombastic misinformation, we are laser focused on protecting the welfare of the people in our care. Masks provide freedom to move about our community while vaccination [efforts] continue.”
In what seemed to be the exact kind of posturing mentioned by the two leaders, St. Louis County Councilman Tim Fitch took to the podium as Jones and Page concluded the conference and walked away.
It did not appear that his appearance was planned or approved, but news cameras kept rolling as he spoke and took journalists’ questions.
Fitch adamantly argued that Page does not have the authority to institute a mask mandate in the county without the approval of the council and said Page is in fact breaking the law by implementing the mask requirement.
Fitch appeared to be referring to the Missouri state law signed by Gov. Mike Parson in mid-June. The law,according to St. Louis Public Radio, states that Missouri counties and towns will only be able to issue public health orders that restrict access to businesses, churches and schools for 30 days when the governor declares a public health emergency. Without it, they can impose restrictions for 21 days and local officials can only extend those orders if the local legislative body approves.
Fitch said at least twice that everyone should get vaccinated.
Before Fitch spoke, Jones confirmed she had not heard from any of the city’s aldermen about the new mandate as of Monday morning.
The mandate itself will not close schools or businesses that are open or plan to open — rather, it mandates that all individuals over the age of five wear masks in indoor public settings unless eating or drinking. Some other exceptions do apply.
“We simply have contagion rates that are unacceptably high,” said Dr. Faisal Khan, acting director of the St. Louis County Department of Public Health, standing alongside Page and Jones.
“For those who are vaccinated, this may feel like punishment — punishment for doing the right thing,” Page said. “I’ve heard that, and I feel that frustration.”
Jones and Page noted that there are two groups the government is focusing their vaccination efforts on, one they labeled as vaccine hesitant. The efforts to reach these people include mobile vaccine centers showing up at community events and an effort to reach and educate people through their everyday activities like churches, barbershops, beauty shops, etc.
“Even if you aren’t concerned for yourself, think about the people in your life and in the region who need to be protected from the virus,” Jones said.
The second unvaccinated group they labeled as vaccine hostile, which they believe is fueled by the political environment and represents “an unfortunate time in our history,” according to Page.
Kahn confirmed that vaccinations are the best way to stop the fast-spreading Delta variant, but so far not enough people have been vaccinated.
Throughout the state, 40.8% of the population was fully vaccinated as of Sunday.This compares to an estimated 45% fully vaccinated rate in the county and 35.4% in the city.
Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 49.1% of the nation’s population is fully vaccinated and Jones noted that the agency on Monday was considering issuing mask guidance given the variant and vaccination levels.
The CDC reported that only 24.5% of the nation’s Black population is fully vaccinated. This compares to 36.6% of the Asian population, 30.5% of the Hispanic population and 33.2% of the white population.
One June 1, the St. Louis region experienced 40 new COVID-19 cases in a day, on Saturday that number was up to 218 a day — mirroring the deadly spike last winter.
“These numbers are too alarming to ignore … we can’t stand idly by as this new Delta variant takes more and more victims,” Page said.
Both leaders implored the public to work together to get vaccinated and stay masked to prevent the spread of the Delta variant.
“Masking and vaccination go hand in hand,” Jones said.
The CDC states vaccines have been shown to reduce hospitalizations due to COVID-19 by 87%.
A list of vaccination sites can be found by visiting stlcorona.com for county locations or bit.ly/3BGHsMm for city locations.
