St. Louis County's mask mandate will end Monday.
St. Louis County’s mask mandate will come to an end on Monday, February 28.
Citing a decrease in case numbers and advice from local health officials that we’ve seen the worst of the pandemic, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said in a press conference on Wednesday morning he feels cautiously optimistic about ending the public health order.
“In early January, we were seeing record COVID cases,” Page said. “But with the mask mandate and a continued effort to get more people vaccinated, and the virus weakening, we’re in a much better place today: A place where we’re cautiously optimistic.”
The county will still continue to recommend masks in crowded public indoor spaces. Page said he’s waiting until Monday, February 28, to end the order so schools and local businesses can have enough time to decide on if they want to keep mask mandates in place.
Page also said while he doesn’t know the timing, it’s his understanding that St. Louis city will follow the county closely in ending their mask mandate; that process has to go through the Board of Alderman. He added that in order to bring the mask mandate back to the county, health officials will have to see an “extraordinary rise” in case numbers again.
As of February 21 – the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force hasn’t reported updated numbers due to a data delay at the time of this article – daily COVID-19 admissions were listed at 39 patients, and the current number of hospitalized patients was at 341. The county executive said health officials aren’t expecting another spike with the removal of the mask mandate.
The press conference ended with Page applauding St. Louis County’s vaccination rates. He encouraged residents to continue to get vaccinated and mask up when necessary, but emphasized the cautious optimism the county and its health department has about the pandemic.
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