Weber County leaders defer immediate action on masks, to study issue
Weber County leaders defer immediate action on masks
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- Cindy Whinham, opposed to a COVID-19 mask mandate in schools, holds a sign reading “Let us choose” at a meeting Monday, Aug. 23, 2021, in Ogden of the Weber-Morgan Board of Health.
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- David Lesser, at the podium, expresses support for some sort of mask mandate while addressing the Weber-Morgan Board of Health at the body’s meeting in Ogden on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. (Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner)
OGDEN — There will be no mask mandate for kids in Weber and Morgan counties, at least for now.
But county commissioners in each county will discuss the issue with Weber-Morgan Health Department Director Brian Cowan, then present their findings to the Weber-Morgan Board of Health when the review is complete, and possibly recommend a plan of action.
Classes across Weber County are starting, but officials, who set the course of action on Monday, set no specific timeline for any followup moves, though commissioners may start their deliberations as early as Aug. 30. The first day of classes for Ogden students was Friday while Weber School District classes begin Wednesday.
The touchy issue of masks in schools to safeguard against the spread of the COVID-19 virus came up at Monday’s meeting of the Weber-Morgan Board of Health, drawing public comment from both those favoring some sort of mask rule and those opposed. Only 15 members of the public addressed board members, per guidelines set by health department officials. Ten expressed opposition to a mandate while five said they favored some sort of rule.
Outside the meeting room, a crowd gathered, unable to enter because of social distancing rules inside the room where Monday’s meeting was held. Whatever the case, though the issue has caused raucous debate in some locales, the meeting in Ogden unfolded in relative calm.
Some mandate foes held signs in the meeting room reading, “Let us choose,” while others outside sang the national anthem on a pair of occasions.
The arguments presented by the public echoed comments made as the debate has unfolded nationwide as the 2021-2022 school year begins. Mandate proponents cited the vulnerability of kids to COVID-19, since only those aged 12 and up can get vaccinated, and the import of masks in preventing the spread of the virus.
“School districts in other states that have opened without masks have already experienced a big jump in cases,” said Davis Lesser, a physician and husband of Utah Rep. Rosemary Lesser. The delta variant of the virus, root of most cases of late, is more contagious than the original virus.
Foes, meantime, variously questioned the value of masks in preventing the spread of the virus and painted the issue as a matter of personal liberties. Whether kids wear masks, some said, should be up to parents, not a governmental entity.
Cindy Whinham, a retired teacher from Roy, said the ability to see faces and facial cues is important in a school setting. “I need to see my students’ faces when I’m in the classroom,” she said.
Meantime, Amy Carter, the health department’s communicable disease and epidemiology nurse, told the board that there are more cases among school-aged kids now versus this same time last year. As schools begin, she warned of a “significantly higher” case count this year and more hospitalizations and deaths.
The decision by the Weber-Morgan Board of Health, made up of 13 appointed members, to direct county commissioners to take up the issue in consultations with Cowan came at the end of Monday’s meeting. It was guided, in part, by state legislation putting more authority on the mask matter in the hands of elected leaders.
Board of Health members expressed a range of views on the issue.
Gage Froerer, a Weber County commissioner and member of the board, expressed reservations about imposing a mandate. “I take the citizens’ right for self-determination very seriously,” he said. He said he’s a firm believer “in personal choice.”
Froerer proposed the motion ultimately approved by the board to let commissioners in Weber and Morgan counties review the issue and come up with a possible plan of action.
Bonnie Wahlen, another board member, expressed support for mask use, though not necessarily a mandate. “Masks will keep our children safer,” she said.
Cowan expressed reservations about imposing an immediate mask mandate, with schools just starting. He said he would favor an approach similar to Summit County’s.
The plan there, which went into effect last Saturday, says face covering would be required if the 14-day COVID-19 positivity rate among students, staff and faculty at any individual grade school reaches 2%. The rule doesn’t apply to middle schools or high schools.
Leaders in Grand County in southern Utah have approved a mask mandate for students, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall last Friday said she’d issue a mask mandate for schools in the city, from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Salt Lake County Health Director Angela Dunn issued a mask mandate in Salt Lake County earlier this month, but the County Council there subsequently voted 6-3 to rescind it.