Missouri AG and Two St. Louis County Councilmen Plan to Prevent County Commissioner Sam Page’s Reimplementation of the Mask Mandate

 

St. Louis County Executive Sam Page is hated for his handling of COVID, now he is going for round two.

St. Louis County and city reinstituted the mask mandate starting tomorrow.

St. Louis city and county officials say they will require masks in some public places starting Monday, citing a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases spurred by the delta variant…

…Dr. Fredrick Echols, acting director of health for the city of St. Louis, said more than 500 St. Louisans have already died from COVID-19, “and if our region doesn’t work together to protect one another, we could see spikes that overwhelm our hospital and public health systems.”

Dr. Faisal Khan, acting director of the St. Louis County Department of Public Health, encouraged people to get vaccinated, and to adhere to the new guidelines.

“We must protect our most vulnerable residents as well as children under 12, who are not yet eligible for vaccinations,” Khan said in the release.

The culprits behind the new mask mandate, the mayor and county executive are now the likely targets of a suit from Missouri’s Attorney General to prevent the mandate from taking effect.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said he will be filing a lawsuit on Monday to stop a mask mandate in St. Louis and St. Louis County.

Schmitt, a Republican, said in a tweet that he intends to file a lawsuit to “stop this insanity.”

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, both Democrats, announced the new mandate Friday, saying it would take effect on Monday…

…This is not the first time Schmitt has sued over coronavirus-related restrictions in St. Louis County. In May, he filed a lawsuit against Page, St. Louis County Health Director Dr. Faisal Khan and the St. Louis County Department of Public Health over what he called the “arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable application of COVID-19 restrictions in St. Louis County.” The suit specifically mentioned restrictions on religious institutions, masking requirements for K-12 grades, government pre-approval for events and outdoor mask requirements…

…According to a release, House Bill 271 says “political subdivisions may only issue public health orders that directly or indirectly restrict access to businesses, churches, schools or other places of assembly for 30 calendar days in a 180-day period when the governor has declared a state of emergency.”

A memo was sent to the St. Louis County Council from two members of the council requesting to add the mask mandate to the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting.

Missouri Governor Parsons said when signing Bill 271 which addresses the mandate for mask mandates :

“This legislation I am signing today requires local leaders to be more transparent in their reasoning and accountable for their decisions when it comes to public health orders,” Governor Parson said. “It also prohibits local, publicly funded entities from requiring a vaccine passport in order for residents to use public services, and while we encourage all Missourians to get vaccinated against COVID-19, it is not the government’s job to force them.”

It is likely that the mask mandate will be overturned due to a lack of transparency in the rationale for the mandate from local politicians.