The Cowley County Courthouse in Winfield. (Courtesy photo)
The Cowley County Commission voted 3-0 to opt out of the governor’s latest state mask mandate order Tuesday morning.
The commission met at the Cowley County Courthouse in Winfield and allowed public comment via Zoom.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly issued a new executive order on Nov. 18.
The new order goes into effect on Wednesday, however, counties without mask orders were given time to develop their own mask mandates or opt out again.
Winfield’s mask ordinance remains in place, according to City Manager Taggert Wall Tuesday.
Ark City does not have a mask order.
Since Friday, Cowley County added 117 new cases of COVID-19 according to Monday’s latest report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Since Nov. 2, the county has added 776 new cases and overall, has totaled 1,384 cases so far since a national emergency proclamation was issued by the White House on March 13.
Cowley County Public Health Officer Thomas Langer, who was at the commission meeting in person, urged mask use, but stopped short of advising the commission to issue a mask order. He also said 21 people have died so far in the county due to the virus.
The county opted out of Gov. Kelly’s first mask order on July 2.
Monday night, both the Ark City and Winfield school boards voted to extend remote learning until January.
All USD 470 students will continue to learn remotely until Jan. 5, while Winfield USD 465 will extend remote learning until Jan. 22.
Winfield School Board Member Tom Fell told KSOK-NewsCow Tuesday Jan. 22 is the halfway mark of the year for schools in Winfield, since the start of the school year was delayed.
Fell also said the Jan. 22 return date is 2-3 weeks after the heightened “social times” of the holidays.
At last night’s meeting, after hearing input from district administrators and teachers, the Board of Education decided…
Posted by USD 465 – Winfield on Tuesday, November 24, 2020
USD 470 Superintendent Dr. Ron Ballard said in a news release the district expects conditions to worsen.
“Currently, COVID-19 conditions within our district do not allow for in-person learning,” Ballard said. “We have conferred with state and local health officials and unfortunately, conditions are anticipated to worsen, potentially throughout the holiday season.”
Ballard said the school district is partnering with several other entities in Cowley County in a “Crushing COVID” public awareness campaign. The campaign encourages citizens to do more to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Such proactive measures include wearing a mask, avoiding gatherings, increasing hygiene efforts, and monitoring health.
“We’re at a point where each of us needs to accept responsibility and do our part to make a difference,” Ballard said. “Without the public’s support of these measures, I’m afraid we won’t see any significant improvement.”
