At their Monday meeting, the Carroll County Board of Supervisors debated the face covering mandate issued after a surge in cases this past fall. This was set to expire Feb. 15, but on Sunday adaptations made by Gov. Kim Reynolds to Iowa’s disaster proclamation eased some restrictions. The question was whether or not they should follow suit. Chair, Gene Meiners, says he understands but adds we are not out of the woods yet. Dean Schettler read a statement from Dr. Michelle Heim, a physician who sits on the County Board of Health.
She says it may be mid-March before a majority of this group will receive their first shot. She suggests the mandate remain until this group is fully vaccinated. Carroll County Public Health Nurse, Sara Schulte, agrees. County Emergency Management Coordinator, Sarah Anderson, believes mitigation methods have been working and is happy to report that Carroll schools are maintaining their mandates. Rich Ruggles says the people of the county have been doing the right thing and the numbers reflect that, but he would like to see a language change.
It is up to every business and organization to determine for themselves whether they will require masks be worn by their staff and customers, Ruggles says. Stephanie Hausman and Scott Johnson agree with Ruggles. This was reflected in the first motion to extend the mandate as it failed on a vote of two in favor and three against. Another motion, to change the language to strongly recommend and extend the mandate to April 15, passed on a unanimous vote. As is the case with other businesses, the Meiners says they then needed to decide whether they would change the face covering mandate at the Carroll County Courthouse.
The board unanimously agreed to leave their policy unchanged at this time. Audio of this full discussion can be found below.
