KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It will be possible, by Wednesday night, that none of the 105 counties in Kansas will be in an emergency order requiring mask mandates.
That outcome is a possibility as the state’s only counties with an existing order — Wyandotte County and Douglas County — are set to evaluate their emergency orders.
On Wednesday, the Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health Department will recommend county commissioners remove the county’s mask mandate.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Kansas, is set to review its mask mandate in a meeting Monday night.
The decisions come less than a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance in loosening mask and social distancing recommendations for people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine.
That new guidelines prompted Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly to announce her state would follow the CDC's lead.
“We are excited that our number of new cases and hospitalizations have come down significantly right now, and we are proud so many Douglas County residents 12 and older have come forward to get vaccinated,” Douglas County’s Local Health Officer Dr. Thomas Carcellino said Monday in a news release. “Even though we believe a health order is not currently necessary, we recognize the complexities of implementing the CDC guidance, including challenges of telling if someone is fully vaccinated. We strongly recommend people continue to wear masks in indoor public spaces and that businesses and organizations continue to utilize spacing and distancing between parties because these measures have been working well in our community.”
On Friday, Kansas City, Missouri, repealed its emergency order the that had placed limits on a variety of activities to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
—
