KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Johnson County Commissioners are meeting this morning to discuss whether to extend a current mask mandate for students in kindergarten through 6th grade.
The mandate has been in effect since last August when commissioners passed the mandate in a meeting that lasted nearly three hours.
The next meeting comes as doctors and health officials across the Kansas City area have sounded the alarm on the level of COVID-19 spread in recent weeks.
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More than 200 doctors penned a letter to the Johnson County commissioners on Monday asking them to extend the mandate in place.
And on Wednesday morning, 18 chief medical officers from hospital systems across Kansas and Missouri also joined a call in which they described the COVID-19 situation as "critical."
Part of the discussion in a Monday night meeting held by the Shawnee Mission School District board of education centered on the meeting scheduled for Thursday.
After multiple interruptions by anti-maskers, board members allowed masks to be optional for secondary students but said decisions by Johnson County Commissioners would impact future decisions.
The Johnson County Commissioners meeting on Thursday begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Johnson County Administration Building.
Public comment will be allowed and those interested can fill out the application by visiting the county website.
