OKC mask mandate on track to expire April 30
Public health officials say data shows the mandate helped limit the spread of COVID-19 in Oklahoma City, keeping hospitals from being overwhelmed.
In effect for nine months in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19, Oklahoma City’s mask mandate appears on track to expire April 30.
A proposed early end to the mandate lacked support and, as expected, was abandoned without a vote at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Councilmen Mark Stonecipher and Todd Stone had proposed the mask mandate be ended March 31, a month earlier than previously agreed upon by the council.
When that idea failed to win sufficient support at the March 30 meeting, the council delayed further consideration until Tuesday.
With no change in where the votes stood, the city manager dropped it from the agenda, and no council members objected.
The council first adopted the mask ordinance July 17 as a temporary measure. It was renewed about every six weeks, most recently on March 2.
The ordinance required masks be worn indoors in many public places, though around a dozen exceptions were made, including for worship services, athletics and some offices.
Seven votes on the nine-member council were necessary to end the mandate early. Seven votes also would be needed to renew the ordinance again.
That level of support evaporated when Stone, from Ward 4, agreed with Stonecipher, from Ward 8, that the time had come to end the mandate early.
Without Stone’s support, the mandate will expire in just over two weeks.
Public health officials say data shows the mandate helped limit the spread of COVID-19 in Oklahoma City, keeping hospitals from being overwhelmed.
Some merchants said the mandate gave them confidence to adopt healthsafety precautions to protect their cus
tomers and employees.
Public health officials who spoke in early March in favor of the latest renewal said a model showed extending the mandate through April would help the city reach communitywide immunity in June, controlling spread of the coronavirus.
New councilmembers sworn in
Newly-elected Ward 1 Councilman Bradley Cooper and Ward 3 Councilwoman Barbara Young began their four-year terms Tuesday.
Both newcomers, representing the two wards on the city’s western fringe, won runoff elections last week.
In brief remarks, Young stressed roads, public safety and jobs.
“My door’s always open,” she said.
Ward 4 Councilman Todd Stone, who was reelected in the Feb. 9 primary, and Ward 7 Councilwoman Nikki Nice, who was unopposed, began new terms.
Council members earn $12,000 per year. Besides attending regular meetings every two weeks, they serve on committees and trusts. The council also meets weekly in late spring to finalize the annual budget.
Elections for the seats representing Wards 2, 5, 6 and 8 are in 2023.
Also Tuesday, the council:
h Met privately for about 40 minutes to discuss with their attorneys lawsuits over the fatal police shootings of Dustin Pigeon and Stavian Rodriguez.
h Agreed to seek bids for demolition of the vacant 1950s-era police headquarters and municipal courts buildings downtown. Parking is planned in their place.
h Agreed to rezone property at 221 W Wilshire Blvd. for an indoor marijuana farm.