After changing Lyon County’s COVID-19 public health order Thursday, County Commissioner Scott Briggs is asking residents and businesses to stay the course on their mitigation strategies.
On Thursday, the County Commission passed a new public health order in effect until further notice — and with only the mask mandate left from past orders. During KVOE’s 8:05 am newscast Friday, Briggs said the commission followed the guidance from Lyon County Health Officer Dr. Ladun Oyenuga, which indicated things are generally getting better with some health concerns still in place. He says it’s a good time to open up the county.
Briggs says businesses, restaurants and other venues can now enact the occupancy and social distancing limits they see fit, although both county commissioners and Lyon County Public Health are asking them to stay with the 100-person mass gathering limit or 40-percent occupant capacity that had been in place until Thursday and to maintain the six-foot social distancing standard.
Briggs says Senate Bill 40 played some role in the county’s decision to act now. Among other aspects of the bill passed last month, SB 40 lets people who are “aggrieved” by COVID-19 mitigation strategies at the city or county levels file lawsuits. Briggs says Lyon County hasn’t been threatened with lawsuits — yet — and it’s unclear how the impact of SB 40 will shake out.
With Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s face covering protocol enacted by executive order and then quickly shot down by the Legislative Coordinating Council on Thursday, Briggs says Lyon County commissioners will track the situation at the state level. There is a chance the county may have to call a special session to make adjustments before a scheduled action meeting, which happens on Thursdays, but Briggs says the mask mandate can be adjusted at any time based on stats and trends down the road.
KVOE continues its updates on the county’s COVID-19 response with the weekly Vaccination Briefing at 8:20 am Monday.
