The Pottawatomie County Commission will meet Friday to determine its course of action regarding Gov. Laura Kelly’s face mask mandate.
The commission, meeting as the Board of Health met Wednesday at the Emergency Operations Center in Wamego where they received public comment, both for and against, with comments about equally divided. Commissioner Pat Weixelman, after clarifying he’s not a doctor, shared his thoughts on “herd immunity,” the benefits of warmer weather and questioned the enforceability of the order.
Without knowing what Kelly’s Executive Order states, the commission has opted to wait until a 9 a.m. meeting Friday. That’s when they’ll decide whether to follow the order as written, pass a more restrictive order or pass a more lenient order. Doing the latter would require a relationship to the community’s health and not just because that is what they feel best, or at the citizens’ request, according to County Counselor John Watt.
As of Wednesday, Pottawatomie County was monitoring 17 active cases. There have been 56 recoveries, for a cumulative total of 73 cases. The county has zero hospitalizations and zero deaths. They are awaiting the results of 31 tests.
