KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Johnson County residents may be unmasked next week, if they choose to be.
The Johnson County Commission will consider whether to continue a mask mandate, put in place to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic, at its April 29 meeting.
The commissioners approved a Public Health Order, which outlines social distancing and mas protocols, on March 25. It is set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on April 30.
One of the goals of the March order was to get about 50% of eligible Johnson County residents with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
So far, more than 325,000 or 33%, of county residents have received at least one vaccination, according to data from the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment. The number of Johnson Countians who are fully vaccinated is 22%.
With a week to consider the fate of the Public Health Order, Commission Chairman Ed Eilert asked County Health Director Dr. Sanmi Areola on Thursday about easing the mask mandate.
"We'll see what the numbers show at the end of next week," Areola said. "What is clear, what we've made pretty clear talking across the county, is the need for masks continues. 50% is not community immunity, the so-called herd immunity."
Areola told Eilert and the rest of the commission that the department would support moving from a mask mandate to strongly recommending that people wear a mask in public.
"We have a lot of work to do, but there are variables we can't fully predict," Aerola said. "The prudent thing to do is to be ready to take action if and when they become necessary."
Eilert said urging people to get vaccinated would continue.
Nearly 60% of county residents age 50 or older have received at least one vaccine dose and 42% are fully vaccinated.
Elizabeth Holzschuh, the JCDHE's director of epidemiology, said there have been 644 COVID-19 deaths in the county, with 60% of those deaths occurring in long-term health care facilities, according to for the county.
The Kansas Department of Health Environment lists 744 deaths from COVID-19 in Johnson County.
She said the first COVID-19 case in Johnson County was reported on March 7, 2020.
