Masks now required within Memphis
Rule applies to public buildings, businesses, public transit
Memphians are now required to wear face coverings in certain public places and businesses to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
On Tuesday, the Memphis City Council approved an ordinance that would require the wearing of face masks in places of business, inside public buildings and when seeking medical care. It also applies when people are waiting for or using public transportation.
A notable exception to the ordinance is that facial coverings are not required when someone is seated at a bar or restaurant — though wearing one when ordering is recommended. It is also not required if someone is at work and in a separate room from other people.
The mandate comes just a day after Memphis and Shelby County delayed entering Phase 3 of their economic reopening amid a considerable spike in cases and hospitalizations. It marks a departure from months of local officials recommending but not mandating masks.
“What we’ve been seeing is not doing phase 2 correctly,” Dr. Jeff Warren, one of the measure’s co-sponsors, said of the spike in cases. He is a member of the Memphis and Shelby County COVID-19 joint task force, as well.
Another member of the task force,
Dr. Manoj Jain, said it was time to mandate masks because two months of public awareness campaigns hadn’t worked. Jain and others in the health community, including the leaders of the Shelby County Health Department, have pleaded with the public to wear masks since at least April. However, adoption has been uneven.
Before it passed, the ordinance was amended to water down the potential penalties. For now, it will be enforced by warnings from agencies such as Memphis and Shelby County code enforcement. Council members and their attorney, Allan Wade, suggested that further penalties could be added later, including community service.
The ordinance also requires businesses to have employees wear masks when they’re interacting with members of the public, preparing food, or are in an enclosed room with other people who aren’t members of their household.
The ordinance will take effect after a few procedural hurdles are crossed. The ordinance has to be signed by council chair Patrice Robinson and then delivered to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. That typically takes effect within hours or days of an ordinance being passed.
The vote went 9 to 4. Councilmen Worth Morgan, Chase Carlisle, Frank Colvett and J. Ford Canale voted no.
Vote came after lengthy debate
The council discussed the measure for more than an hour Tuesday. Three of the members who voted against the measure — Canale, Morgan and Carlisle — expressed support for wearing masks and said they agreed with the spirit of the measure, but worried about unintended consequences or government overreach.
Wade, the longtime council attorney, advocated for the measure and connected it to the ongoing national and local advocacy for racial equity as well as the disproportionate impact the disease has had on Black Americans, including in Memphis.
After a day of advocating for police reform and accountability reform measures, Wade told the council that, if they really cared about Black lives, they would vote for the ordinance.
One councilman, JB Smiley, Jr., said he was swayed by Wade’s comments and then voted for the measure.
Kelsey asks for AG opinion
On Wednesday, State Sen. Brian Kelsey asked Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery III for an opinion on the constitutionality of the mask ordinance. Kelsey noted that one piece of the ordinance says violations could be a Class C misdemeanor.
Another part, however, says violations are punished by a warning.
“The Memphis City Council mask mandate raises serious constitutional questions. I think it would be prudent for the state Attorney General to weigh in on this issue before the ordinance becomes final,” Kelsey said in a statement
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s administration is also unclear on how to enforce it. City legal staff is currently analyzing the measure.
“We are still reviewing the ordinance to fully understand how the council would like it enforced; however, we are hopeful that citizens will comply out of care and compassion for their fellow Memphians,” Strickland said in his daily coronavirus update.