Area mayors react to letter from healthcare providers asking for mask mandate
Four area mayors have reacted to a letter sent to them by local healthcare entities regarding action to slow the spread of COVID-19, including asking them to issue a face mask mandate.
Joplin Mayor Ryan Stanley says they appreciate our healthcare leaders reaching out for assistance and that he will be having conversations about a possible next step:
“As Mayor, I recently received a letter from healthcare organizations and providers in southwest Missouri noting the significant challenges they are currently facing due to the coronavirus. They noted the substantial increase their facilities are experiencing in the number of citizens presenting with illness, including both coronavirus and other high-risk conditions. Due to the rise of patients confirmed with COVID-19 in these facilities, each are facing complex adversities including reduced capacity. This decrease puts everyone in our community at risk.
The City of Joplin had implemented a mask mandate in the past, which our healthcare leaders recognized as a tool that helped keep COVID-19 hospitalizations at a manageable level. Their letter is asking for the City of Joplin, and all of Jasper County and Newton County along with the municipalities in these counties to pass a mask mandate to help decrease the spread.
We appreciate our healthcare leaders reaching out to us for assistance. This is an opportunity to work together in collaboration with our neighboring communities to act in unison to combat the spread of COVID-19.
At the close of last night’s Council meeting, I received confirmation from the Council to contact the county commissioners to learn their intended next step in this matter. The Joplin City Council cannot affect other cities’ actions, however, as a municipality that sits in both Jasper and Newton counties, I am contacting the commissioners to discuss the possibility of collaboration among all. Once I have had a discussion with the leadership of both counties, I will update Joplin City Council, and we will discuss how we want to proceed further.
We are encouraged that we can make a difference as a region, to decrease the transmission of COVID-19 that is affecting our citizens in each of our communities.”
Joplin’s hospitals have now reached an occupancy of 100 COVID-19 patients.
Carthage Mayor Dan Rife, Carl Junction Mayor Mark Powers, and Webb City Mayor Lynn Ragsdale all signed a joint statement after the letter was made public:
“We have been made aware that our two major hospitals are nearing capacity in their COVID units. They are very concerned as we enter the normal, annual flu season and the holidays. They have requested that our cities help as best we can to once again flatten this curve.
The cities of Carl Junction, Carthage, and Webb City jointly encourage our good citizens to double down on your COVID protocols. Practice good hygiene and wash your hands often. Be aware of your surroundings and avoid places where safe distancing is not possible. And, when you are in a place where you do not feel safely distanced from others please put on a face mask. Please honor local businesses that require face masks. Also, please wash your mask or replace it often for increased sanitary purposes.
We cannot predict that doubling down on these protocols will change the curve but if it keeps just one person out of the hospital our extra efforts will have been worth it. We trust our good people to do their part and know in our three cities we are in this together.”
This as Missouri Governor Mike Parson says 2.5 million COVID-19 tests have now been done in the state. He says that 200 COVID-19 testing locations across the state. Parson touting his administration’s efforts to allocate 1.2 million dollars for testing in long-term care facilities as he continues to urge people to wear a mask and socially distance as cases of COVID-19 surge.