Moscow City Council unanimously voted to extend the city’s mask order until Jan. 5, after a long public comment period during Monday night’s city council meeting. The public health emergency order, which was set to expire Oct. 6, has been in effect since July 2.
The order states face coverings must be worn in public when a physical distance of six feet can’t be maintained from non-household members. The order does not apply to those younger than five years old, incarcerated individuals and people with physical or mental health conditions and disabilities which could make wearing a face covering dangerous.
Outside City Hall, protestors held signs reading “Unmask Moscow,” and “Mask if you want but don’t make me.” The protesters cheered as passing cars honked in support. Several protestors stayed for the duration of the meeting.
Mayor Bill Lambert and many of the councilors, including Councilor Gina Taruscio, thanked the public for their input.
“I echo my fellow councilors gratitude for everybody not only sitting here this evening, coming in and out to speak to us, but also the abundance of emails,” Taruscio said. “It shows we are all pretty passionate about the place we live in. We believe that your voices are worth being heard.”
Citizens both in favor and against extending the mask order spoke during the public comment period. Victoria Seever, a community member in support of the order, said masks help businesses stay open.
“When I take my cat that has a heart condition to Washington State University, you can’t stay there, you have to go kill a couple hours,” Seever said. “So we always go somewhere to hang out or eat. If I go to a place where the staff isn’t wearing masks, they’re not going to get my business.”
The woman said wearing masks isn’t a hardship. Instead, she described it as an “expression of caring about your community.”
“I don’t want to get in a race with Pullman to see who can get the most COVID-19 cases,” Seever said.
Several others used the public comment period to urge the council not the extend the mask order. Darin Mitchem was among them.
“I beg you, please don’t do this for three more months,” Mitchem said. “I have a high schooler and this has wreaked havoc on his mental and physical health. I really think we can be treated like adults and make our own best judgement.”
Councilor Brandy Sullivan said the council received a letter from the Palouse Physician Pandemic Taskforce, a group of local physicians, which stated masks are recommended by every major medical group to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“I know that people don’t want to wear masks anymore and we want to see each other’s faces,” Sullivan said. “I want that also. But just because I want it doesn’t mean it’s the responsible thing to do.”
Angela Palermo can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @apalermooo.
Don Kaag
MPD officers arrested 3 residents on the street in Moscow without masks today(23 Sep). We'll see how this plays out.