Mask mandate debates continue at Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center board meeting

Ben Matthews

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

For more than two hours, the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center board of trustees heard public dissent and support regarding the county's mandatory mask mandate during a meeting Tuesday, July 28, 2020, at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau.

After a Board of Trustees meeting, Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center board member John Freeze discusses the county's mandatory face mask usage ordinance Tuesday, July 28, 2020, outside of the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Carmen Shrimplin, far left, raises awareness of the complications a mandatory face mask usage mandate imposes upon students with special needs during a Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday, July 28, 2020, at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Cross Trails Medical Center doctor Sarah Goodman advocates for proper mask usage during a Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday, July 28, 2020, at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Cape Girardeau County Health Department board member Diane Howard, far right, responds to a comment during a Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday, July 28, 2020, at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)

A speaker who wished not to be identified questions the county's mandatory mask mandate during a Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday, July 28, 2020, at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Welker listens as members of the public address the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center Board of Trustees during a meeting Tuesday, July 28, 2020, at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
A group of unmasked citizens gathers outside of a Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center Board of Trustees meeting as a box of face masks rests near the door Tuesday, July 28, 2020, at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
After setting a timer, Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center board member John Freeze leans back to listen to a citizen Tuesday, July 28, 2020, at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
An umasked group stands outside of a Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center Board of Trustees meeting as officials stand near a sign-in form at the doorway Tuesday, July 28, 2020, at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)