As Lyon County’s new mass gathering policy begins, the County Commission and Public Health apparently aren’t seeing eye to eye on the policy or how it was developed.
County Commissioner Scott Briggs, a guest on KVOE’s 8:05 am newscast Friday, said there was no formal guidance coming from Public Health during a special Board of Public Health meeting Wednesday.
Health Officer Renee Hively, however, saw things differently. She says there were department-level recommendations on keeping the mass gathering limit at 45 and starting a mask mandate like what’s used in the Emporia city limits.
On Thursday, county commissioners essentially translated the 2,000-person mass gathering limit for outdoor events to indoor activities if pods of 10 people or less can social distance from other pods and if everybody attending can use hand hygiene methods recommended by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Both Briggs and Commission Chair Rollie Martin say the new mass gathering policy allows for greater flexibility for business owners, churches, weddings, funerals and other large-scale gatherings, although they say the policy still may not work if space is limited. Hively, however, says the new policy is too vague and could foster disease spread instead of limit it.
Briggs says the policy can be amended before the Nov. 12 end date if Public Health sees some adjustments that are needed. Adjustments could also come if a committee involving Public Health, Newman Regional Health and mental health experts make recommendations to that end.
