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Douglas County extends public health order requiring masks for children ages 2 to 11

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Posted at 9:45 PM, Sep 22, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-22 22:45:10-04

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Douglas County Commission met Wednesday and decided to continue a public health order requiring children ages 2 to 11 to wear face coverings in indoor, public spaces.

Now that the order has been extended, it remains in effect until Dec. 22.

During the commission meeting, members discussed the continuation based on data showing an increase in cumulative case count, deaths, hospitalization and other statistics since June.

Based on the green, yellow and red system, Douglas County has spent the last few weeks in yellow — meaning 25-49 cases per day in a 14-day rolling average or greater than 500 active cases.

While discussing the measure, Dr. Thomas Marcellino of Lawrence Memorial Hospital spoke about how the order was initiated to help keep kids in school.

"I think what we’ve done here in Douglas County is we’ve curtailed the spread by utilizing this important measure, and it’s enabled our schools to say open,” Marcellino said. “We’ve had some troubles with quarantine and isolation and things like that, but for the most part, I think the has been an effective measure.”

All commissioners agreed to continue the order.