This past weekend’s gun show at the Lyon County Fairgrounds Anderson Building drew extra attention from Lyon County Public Health.
The two-day show organized by Midwest Arms Collectors was popular to say the least. In fact, Public Health Officer Dr. Ladun Oyenuga and Emergency Preparedness Director Jennifer Millbern say traffic inside the building was “shoulder to shoulder” when they surveyed the situation Saturday — well above the 200 total approved by Public Health before the event and also above the 45-person mass gathering limit in place unless Public Health offers explicit approval in advance of a given event.
Once they saw the number of people inside the building, Millbern and Oyenuga say they halted incoming traffic until enough people left so numbers got to an acceptable level. They then restated the original plans, including an approach where event organizers would let in the same number of people as those leaving the building.
Oyenuga and Millbern say this is the first time organizers of a large-scale event have “deviated” from their stated COVID-19 mitigation plans since the pandemic began 10 months ago.
MCA has not responded to a call from KVOE News seeking comment. It told patrons ahead of time to wear masks, and Oyenuga says people largely adhered to that directive.
The event may have taken place in the Emporia city limits, but all Fairgrounds events are scheduled through Lyon County. It was allowed to continue Saturday and take place as scheduled Sunday with no sanctions reported, but Millbern says the approach Public Health used — where there is a discussion period and time given for event organizers to get into compliance with the approved mitigation plan — will likely be the department’s approach unless the county’s health order is adjusted. Millbern says the county’s health order does not allow for tickets to be issued, so Public Health turns evidence over to County Attorney Marc Goodman for his decision on whether to pursue a case.
The current health order references several state laws on local health officers and their powers, but none of those laws lay out any specific penalties for violations.
Last May, The Gym Bar in Emporia was cited for violating a public health order after city commissioners adjusted an ordinance April 1 to make violations punishable by a $500 fine, 30 days in jail or a combination. As is the case now, the county’s health order at the time referenced state law for health officer duties when it came to enforcement and did not mention any potential penalties for failure to abide. The citation was eventually dropped.
Millbern says organizers of large-scale events need to call Public Health at 620-208-3741 well before their planned activities so mitigation plans can be reviewed. People who develop coronavirus after attending large-scale activities need to let Public Health’s disease investigators know so it can track the potential spread.
Click here for the current version of Lyon County’s public health order.
Click here for the state laws referenced in the health order when it comes to enforcement.
