Cape commissioners hear brief mask protest during short meeting

Unlike Monday’s three-hour session during which about a dozen people lobbied against Cape Girardeau County’s mandatory face mask order, only one person spoke on the subject at Thursday’s five-minute meeting of the County Commission.

An emergency order from the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center board went into effect Monday requiring, with some exceptions, the use of face coverings in “public spaces” throughout the county by everyone over the age of 9 in order to slow the spread of the spread of the coronavirus.

According to data from the county health department, there has been a significant increase of coronavirus cases in the county in recent weeks as well as an increase in the percentage of positive tests for the disease.

At their meeting Monday, the commissioners heard from one county resident, William Lewis, who said he believes the county’s data is skewed and paints a “story of doom” about the impact COVID-19 is having on Cape Girardeau County.

“The statistics and analysis published by the health department appears to be deliberately fashioned to mislead the public and spread fear to justify their position,” Lewis said. He went on to say the County Commission is “complicit in this fear mongering” by allowing the health department to issue the mask order.

Three of the five health department board members attended Monday’s County Commission meeting and agreed to review the face mask order at their next board meeting later this month.

The health department, Second District Commissioner Charlie Herbst noted, does not answer to the County Commission.

“They have their own elected board,” he said.

Board member elections are held every two years, but according to Allen Seabaugh, supervisor of elections in the Cape Girardeau County Clerk’s Office, Missouri statutes do not require health department board elections if the number of people who file for election to the board does not exceed the number of board positions available. The last time the number of board applicants exceeded the number of board vacancies was 2013.

There were no items on Thursday’s agenda requiring action by the commissioners. However, at their meeting Monday, they approved the reappointment of Dixie McCollum to the Cape Girardeau County Board for Developmentally Disabled for a three-year term expiring June 30, 2023.

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