Mask order issued for county buildings
Protective face masks must be worn to enter Garland County
government buildings, per the executive order County Judge Darryl Mahoney issued Monday.
Mahoney said the order proceeded from last week’s recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
recommending masks be worn in public settings where it’s difficult for people to maintain a distance of 6 feet from each other.
“We’ve got masks for everyone who works here, and they will be encouraged to wear them,” he said. “We will not be allowing anyone in the county government buildings without a mask.”
The order was issued under the authority of the emergency powers Mahoney invoked March 16. He said masks that cover the mouth and nose are acceptable.
“They can make a cloth one,” he said. “Some people who ride motorcycles have something you can pull up over your face. Whatever they’ve got we’ll allow that in. They’re going to have to keep it on at all times while they’re in the building.”
The stealth of COVID-19, carriers of which can have no symptoms, contributes to the underlying virus’ high rate of transmission. Masks protect the public from asymptomatic carriers, Dr. Gene Shelby, the county’s health officer, said Monday.
“Masks don’t really seem to protect the person wearing it, but if someone is infected it decreases the amount spread of the virus,” he said. “It’s showing
10% to 25% of the people who get the virus are asymptomatic. If you know you’ve got people out there who are asymptomatic who have the virus, if everybody wears a mask than those people would be less likely to transmit the virus.
“It’s a wide spectrum of how people are responding to the disease that makes it so deadly. You do have the asymptomatic people, and then you also have people who get really sick and die from it. Those are two factors about the virus that are making it that much more difficult to manage.”
The Arkansas Department of Health reported 46 county residents had tested positive for the disease as of Monday afternoon. The positives represent more than 6% of the 647 test results the Department of Health reported for Garland County as of Monday afternoon, mirroring the rate of infection for the
12,845 test results the department reported statewide as of Monday afternoon.
Monday’s mask directive is the latest precaution the county has taken against the coronavirus. Measures already in place include using Plexiglas to shield personnel in county buildings from the public and using no-touch thermometers to screen people for fevers at the entrance of buildings.
“We’re using those to make sure no one has a fever,” Mahoney said. “If they do they’re not allowed in the building.”
On Friday, the state Supreme Court extended its suspension of in-person court proceedings through May 1. Three of the county’s four circuit court divisions are in the Garland County Court House. Mahoney said the high court’s order has contributed to what he estimated has been a 75% reduction in foot traffic at the courthouse.
Garland County District Court, located in the courts building at 607 Ouachita Ave., announced Monday the continuation of cases through May
1, rescheduling cases that had been scheduled to appear in court from March 17 to May 1.
Cases were rescheduled according to the following schedule the court released Monday:
• March 17 continued to May 19.
• March 18 continued to May 20.
• March 19 continued to May 21.
• March 20 continued to May 15.
• March 23 continued to June 1.
• March 24 continued to June 2.
• March 25 continued to June 24.
• March 26 continued to May 14.
• March 27 continued to June 26.
• March 30 continued to June 8.
• March 31 continued to June 9.
• April 1 continued to June 3.
• April 2 continued to June 4.
• April 3 continued to June 5.
• April 6 continued to May 11.
• April 7 continued to May 12.
• April 8 continued to June 10.
• April 9 continued to June 4.
• April 10 continued to May 8.
• April 13 continued to May 18.
• April 14 continued to May 19.
• April 15 continued to June 17.
• April 17 continued to May 15.
• April 20 continued to June 1.
• April 21 continued to June 2.
• April 22 to June 24.
• April 23 continued May 14.
• April 24 continued June 26.
• April 27 continued June 8.
• April 28 continued to June 9.
• May 1 continued to June 5.