Fayetteville votes to end mask mandate
FAYETTEVILLE — The city’s mask mandate will end Dec. 23.
The Fayetteville City Council voted 7-0 to rescind the mask mandate effective on that date, which coincides with the last day of the fall semester at Fayetteville School District. The proposal originally had an emergency clause attached to it, meaning it would have taken immediate effect.
The measure the council approved says lifting the mandate can be attributed to increased vaccinations, the availability of vaccines for residents 5 years and older and a reduction in new covid-19 cases and hospitalizations. It also recommends unvaccinated people continue to wear masks in public and says ending the mandate does not prevent any business or public entity from requiring masks.
Council members Holly Hertzberg and Sloan Scroggin sponsored the measure. Hertzberg questioned the effect of the mandate, saying many people in the city aren’t wearing masks in public.
“This isn’t a discussion about the efficacy of masks,” she said. “Rather, it’s a discussion on the efficacy of an ordinance that is not subject to any realistic enforcement.”
Several council members discussed what to do if cases and hospitalizations surged before Dec. 23. City Attorney Kit Williams said a council member has the option to bring forth an item to extend the effective date or adopt a new proposal altogether.
The city’s Board of Health last week supported aligning the end date with Fayetteville Public Schools, but with a condition. Covid hospitalizations should stay near or below 30 in the region, and intensive care unit bed-usage should stay below 100, according to the board’s recommendations.
On Tuesday, the day of the council’s vote, there were 36 covid-19 patients admitted to hospitals in Benton and Washington counties, according to the Northwest Arkansas Council. There were 96 ICU beds being used by covid and non-covid patients.
The city had a mask mandate from June 2020 to June 2021. It reinstated the mandate in August after a court challenge to a state law banning mask mandates. The council continued the mandate into October after Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s emergency declaration ended.
The mandate applies to all indoor public places and city-owned buildings. The responsibility to wear a mask is on individuals, rather than businesses. There are exceptions for eating and drinking or medical conditions.
Four members of the public spoke to the council. Margaret Britain, who spoke online via Zoom, said it seemed like rather than trying to figure out how to enforce the mandate, the city was throwing up its hands. She voiced concern over the potential repercussions of allowing residents to leave off their masks in public after Christmas, when many people travel.