KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, has extended its mask mandate into November.
The Board of Commissioners voted Thursday night at a special meeting to push the mandate – which requires masks in indoor public spaces – until Nov. 18.
“There is still community spread of the delta variant, which is a priority,” the UG said in a tweet. “We need to stop the spread.”
Roughly 40% of residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while about 47% of residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
As vaccines became more widely available, the UG began offering incentives to encourage residents to be inoculated. Kansas Speedway also offered the chance for people to take a couple laps on the track to increase the county’s vaccination rate.
Kansas Department of Health and Environment data in the most recent county COVID-19 ranking report lists Wyandotte County at ninth statewide when factoring in vaccination rate, virus cases and testing numbers.
The Unified Government Public Health Department began offering third doses of COVID-19 vaccines to immunocompromised people last month.
No changes were made to the mandate, but the updated order will be available on Friday.
