OKC City Council Votes To Defer Deciding To End The City's Mask Mandate Early

Oklahoma City Council members voted to defer deciding if they are going to let the city's mask ordinance expire early or keep it in place.

The council will vote on April 13 to decide to end the mask mandate early or allow it to expire on April 30. The decision to defer was a 5 to 4 vote by the council.

The early expiration was proposed by City Council members Todd Stone and Mark Stonecipher.

The councilmen are citing improved COVID-19 data as the reason behind the proposed amendment. The two said hospitalizations and new cases are about half of what they were when the mask ordinance was originally adopted in July, and test positivity rates have been below 5% for the last two weeks.

According to state law, it needs 7 of 9 votes to win approval. If it is not approved, the mask ordinance will expire as scheduled on April 30.

The Oklahoma City-County Board of Health is recommending the city keeps the mask ordinance in place.

They hosted an emergency meeting on Monday and said they want the city to reach herd immunity before they drop the ordinance. To do that, they need 70% of residents to be vaccinated. The board said that so far around 31% have gotten the vaccine.

They also said scientific evidence points to masks being effective and they are worried about new strains of the virus impacting the community.

"We have lost enough Oklahomans to COVID-19 and we have lost enough in Oklahoma County, and we're sensitive to the wishes of people to get back to a more normal it's just a question of timing," Board Chairman Gary Raskob said.

They are asking for more patience.

"We are making really good progress and people just need to be a little more patient. We are getting there. We just don’t want to pull the plug too early," said Oklahoma City-County Health Department chief operating officer Phil Maytubby.

In a statement sent out, Stonecipher said in part:

“This proposal to end the ordinance is being guided by the decrease in infections we have seen. When we put the original mask mandate in place, we did so because test positivity was over 5%. We have now been below that for two weeks, and we are down to 10 cases per 100,000 people. While people and businesses are certainly free to continue their own safety practices, including wearing or requiring masks, we are to a point where a governmental mask mandate is no longer necessary. I will still encourage folks to practice good hygiene by washing their hands regularly, wearing masks where appropriate, and practicing social distancing."

“I have never been a fan of the mask ordinance,” Stone said. “But I have stood by the rest of the Council once a majority had voted to implement and extend it. I have always supported the emergency clause so the will of the council could take effect immediately. My hope is that the rest of the Council will follow our lead and will join with the majority to pass the emergency clause."

"It is important to our local economy that we allow for more robust economic activity and that we don’t lose ground to our neighbors who are also loosening their restrictions,” said Stonecipher.

The City Council begins at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.