Sedgwick County COVID-19 mask order has no fines; churches exempt from gathering limit
An order issued by Sedgwick County to require business employees and patrons to wear masks to slow the spread of COVID-19 was written to be essentially unenforceable and weaker than a city of Wichita ordinance with similar requirements.
And on Thursday, the county order was loosened a bit when Dr. Garold Minns, the county health officer, revised it to exempt religious meetings from a 45-person limitation on the size of public gatherings.
Unenforceability is actually written into Minns’ order.
After a lengthy list of requirements on wearing masks, the order states: “This order cannot be enforced through criminal charges, fines or civil penalties.”
In contrast, the Wichita ordinance that the City Council passed at a special meeting Friday specifies that “any person, business or organization” violating the ordinance “shall be guilty of an infraction.”
It sets out potential fines of $25 for first offense, $50 for a second conviction and $100 for a third or subsequent conviction.
Upon hearing about the unenforceability clause in the county order, Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said, “Good thing ours is still in place then. The safety of our residents is our top priority.”
County Commissioner Jim Howell — who opposes mandatory COVID restrictions — said while the county’s order isn’t as strict as Wichita’s on paper, it still could trigger liability concerns for businesses if they violate it.
In a recent special session, the Kansas Legislature moved to limit lawsuits against businesses if employees or customers catch the novel coronavirus at their establishments.
But to take advantage of that exemption from being sued, businesses must be in compliance with local health regulations, Howell said.
So even though no one could be fined for violating Minns’ order, a business would be taking a big legal risk if it didn’t comply and someone caught the virus there, Howell said.
Although the city ordinance has more enforcement teeth in it, Whipple said he doesn’t expect any citations to be written for violations.
He likened the situation to an issue that arose in April when Gov. Laura Kelly had issued a statewide order limiting public gatherings to five people or less.
An auction business in the city was defying the governor’s order and holding gatherings of up to 200 people, but agreed to comply after Police Chief Gordon Ramsay informed the proprietor he was violating the law, Whipple said.
He said he expects the new mask ordinance to be enforced in about the same way, through education rather than citations.
Minns’ order does go further than the city’s in one respect: it limits public gatherings to 45 people or fewer.
On Thursday, Minns revised his order to carve out an exception for religious gatherings.
“In the new order, it clarifies that religious institutions are exempted from the 45-person gathering limit but they are encouraged to maintain social distancing as much is feasible,” said a county statement outlining the changes from the original order.
The Wichita city ordinance doesn’t limit the overall size of gatherings.
The city and county both require church attendees to wear face masks.
Whipple said he’s talked to several pastors who have reopened or are reopening their churches soon and they’re requiring masks anyway. “I don’t think we’re putting any undue burden on churches,” he said.
He said he doesn’t think it’s necessary to put a specific religious exemption into the city’s ordinance.
However, he said he could see how things might be seen differently across the street at the County Commission, where a majority have expressed constitutional concerns over most COVID health orders and last week voted to overturn a mask order issued by Kelly, turning it into a “strong recommendation” instead.
“I understand that Minns, reading the room, probably wants to be meet some of the commissioners with some of their ideological concerns,” Whipple said. “But our (city ordinance) is just purely based off the governor’s order which is vetted by our medical community.”
This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 5:01 AM.
