By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph city council members have not taken the step to make the wearing of masks mandatory, but the proposal remains a possibility.
Deputy Mayor Kent O’Dell readily acknowledges that wearing a mask is not comfortable.
“It’s not comfortable wearing a mask, but the people who are wearing a mask, I want St. Joe to listen to this, the people who are wearing a mask care,” O’Dell tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. “They’re protecting you, because they are wearing a mask.”
O’Dell says wearing a mask demonstrates you care about the community.
“That’s the biggest thing. Show people you care,” O’Dell says. “Wear a mask when you’re in businesses or confined areas and take the mask off once you go outside and stuff. Nobody is going to say anything. People who are wearing masks care and they’re showing they care.”
O’Dell says the city council is closely watching COVID-19 numbers, especially hospitalizations, as it considers whether to take the step to mandate the wearing of masks in public.
Buchanan County and St. Joseph health officials report a total of 892 coronavirus cases since counting began. There have been three deaths in Buchanan County, including a state prisoner transferred to St. Joseph from Cameron who died at a Kansas City area hospital.
Mosaic Life Care has tested nearly 13,000 area residents with 566 testing positive for COVID-19. At present, 12 patients are hospitalized in St. Joseph.
O’Dell says though masks might be uncomfortable, they are effective.
“If the mask will reduce and everybody knows that masks will reduce the droplets and stuff that are expelled,” O’Dell says. “If we can just squeeze out a couple more weeks or something and take an effort and stuff, I don’t think the mask situation can come back up.”
O’Dell says he knows masks have become controversial.
“I know a lot of people that are totally against it,” O’Dell says, adding. “You wear a mask and it shows you care and you’re going to give it some kind of effort whether you believe it or not.”
A move toward a mandate could easily be headed off by most residents voluntarily wearing masks.
“Spread the word and show people you care, even if its just a couple of times a day or one time a day when you go into a crowded business or something. That’s all I ask.”
The St. Joseph City Council meets in work session every Thursday afternoon to review COVID-19 numbers and discuss steps the city might need to take to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.