LAWRENCE, Kan. — Douglas County, Kansas residents won't have to wear face masks after County Commissioners let the county's COVID-19 health order expire Wednesday night.
"It's just time for them to go," Angi Catron, Kansas resident said.
Commissioners and health department doctors listened Wednesday night to hard-edged comments from residents who were livid about mask mandates and other measures to control the deadly virus.
Speaker after speaker blasted the commission, accusing the three commissioners of trying to take their freedoms.
Some of the opponents included false claims about COVID-19 treatments and whether masks work.
The county was one of only two in the state still requiring a mask. The other is Wyandotte County.
The Board of Commissioners for Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, meet tomorrow night to discuss their health order.
"This gets us through the end of the academic year for most of our K-12 schools. So I think that this was really great for our community to continue to come together around our current health orders through the end of our academic year,"Commissioner Shannon Portillo said.
The Baldwin School District is the only school district in the county still in school.
The district's school year ends Friday and they plan to keep their mask mandate for the final two days.
Douglas County has the highest vaccination rate in Kansas with 491.5 per 1,000 people in the county vaccinated, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment website.
Some people in the county wanted to see the health order dropped.
"I am vaccinated because of recent diagnosis and health problems. I do feel very comfortable," Catron said.
While, others don't mind if it stays around.
"A little while longer may not hurt," Aaron Upshaw, who works in Douglas County, said. "Whichever way it goes, I am really fine with it."
