Wichita passes ordinance requiring masks; here’s what it says

The Wichita City Council passed an ordinance in a special session Friday requiring masks be worn in public.

Mayor Brandon Whipple said the ordinance can be confusing if people start saying the “what ifs.” He said the city welcomes feedback and can adjust if something arises that doesn’t fit with the intentions of the ordinance.

The special session was called Thursday and the ordinance available Friday. In the short time since the idea was proposed, Whipple said the push-back has been from people who don’t think the novel coronavirus is real.

Whipple said the ordinance has similar restrictions to what Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly mandated.

The ordinance sunsets Aug. 11.

Here’s what you need to know in the meantime:

Fines

Fines will be $25 for first-time offenders, $50 for second and $100 for third and subsequent times. But fines will be a last-ditch effort.

“We learned during the stay-in order that, through education, people got it,” Whipple said. “The goal is not to punish, not be heavy-handed. The goal is to keep people safe.”

Whipple said the city has masks that police will hand out. He figures they will need to order more. He said the city should recover dollars for the distributed masks through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

Public places

Masks, which are anything that covers the nose and mouth and does not have to loop around someone’s ears, must be worn at indoor public places where maintaining 6 feet between people is not possible “at all times.” This includes waiting in line to enter a public space.

Outdoors in public, masks are required when 6-feet social distancing cannot be maintained “with only infrequent or incidental moments of closer proximity.” The outdoor social distancing does not apply to people who live together.

Anyone waiting on public transportation or a taxi, private car service, or ride-sharing vehicle must wear a mask as well.

Businesses

All businesses in Wichita must require its employees to wear a mask if: it is a business where customers or people enter, employees work in a space where food is prepared or packaged, employees are in a room where 6-feet social distancing cannot be maintained “except for infrequent or incidental moments of closer proximity.” Social distancing does not apply to people who live together. The businesses must require customers and visitors to wear a mask as well.

Businesses include the healthcare sector “unless directed otherwise by an employee or healthcare provider.”

People do not have to wear masks while eating or drinking at a restaurant or similar business as long as 6-feet social distancing is maintained “with only infrequent or incidental moments of closer proximity.” Social distancing does not apply to people who live together.

Athletics

People in an organized sport activity do not have to wear a mask as long as 6 feet of social distancing is maintained “with only infrequent or incidental moments of closer proximity.”

The ordinance also allows masks to be worn on the outside of football helmets.

Exemptions:

• People do not need to wear a mask during an activity that a “professional or recreational association, regulatory entity, medical association, or other public-health-oriented entity” has determined cannot be safely done with a mask.
• Children ages 5 or under
• People with a medical condition that prevents wearing a mask
• Workers who would be at risk wearing a mask during work: The risk is determined by local, state or federal regulators or by workplace safety guidelines.
• People who are hearing impaired or communicating with someone with a hearing problem where seeing the mouth is needed for communication

This story was originally published July 3, 2020 at 9:16 PM.