The Jefferson County Health Department Board of Trustees has extended the county’s face mask order.
At the board’s meeting today (Dec. 21), the trustees voted 3-2 to extend the order until 5 p.m. Jan. 21.
Suzy Davis and James Prater voted against extending the order, and those who voted in favor included chairman Dennis Diehl and board members Tim Pigg and Amber Henry.
The order, which does not include fines or penalties for those who violate it, originally went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Nov. 27. It would have ended at 5 p.m. today if the trustees had not extended it.
It is a joint order with the county government and is intended to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Davis said she believes the number of coronavirus cases has come down lately, so she does not believe the mask order needed to be extended.
She made a motion against extending the order, and Prater seconded it. Her motion failed by a 3-2 vote, with Diehl, Pigg and Henry voting no and Prater and Davis voting yes.
Davis also made a motion to amend a board resolution that requires people to wear face masks while inside Health Department buildings, asking the board to approve an exemption for board members based on their religious beliefs or health issues.
“As a health board member, we should not be required to wear a mask if we have a religious exemption or health exemption,” Davis said. “It’s very wrong to deny a person’s civil rights in any circumstance.”
Board attorney Christi Coleman said the Health Department can set “reasonable” restrictions in light of the pandemic.
Prater seconded Davis’ motion, but it failed by the same by the same 3-2 vote.
Contract extended, lease approved
The board voted 4-1 at the meeting to extend its contract with Maximus Federal Services, which has been conducting COVID-19 tracing for the department.
In October, the board approved a contract for up to $1.63 million with the company for the service.
Health Department Director Kelley Vollmar said Maximus has 105 people working on contract tracing in the county, and so far the Health Department has paid the company about $600,000.
Davis, who complained about not using a local company for the service, voted against extending the contract with Maximus.
Vollmar said the state handled the bid process and Jefferson County companies had the option of submitting competitive bids.
The board also voted unanimously to pay $1,800 a month to lease office space at 365 Second St. in Hillsboro, which is next to the Health Department office.
For the past several meetings, a crowd has gathered outside the Health Department to protest for or against a mask order, with most of the crowd opposed to a mask order, but no one showed up to today’s meeting.
Only 11 people, including the trustees, the board’s attorney and Health Department staff members and a member of the press, were allowed in the meeting room.
However, the public could watch the meeting, which was live streamed on the Department’s YouTube channel.
County COVID-19 stats
The Health Department reported 356 more COVID-19 cases since its last report on Dec. 18, bringing the total number of cases in the county to 15,663 since the first ones were reported in March.
Of those, 151 cases were from Dec. 18, another 88 were from Dec. 19 and 117 were from Sunday (Dec. 20).
The county has an estimated 6,383 active cases, the highest number since the start of the pandemic, the Health Department reported.
However, Brianne Zwiener, communications specialist with the Health Department, said the agency no longer follows up with all COVID-19 patients, so the active case number is an estimate.
Zwiener also said the Health Department typically closes out positive COVID-19 cases after 10 days, although there can be a delay in case closures.
Of the county’s total coronavirus cases, 1,079 have been at long-term care facilities, which includes residents and staff members who live in Jefferson County.
Of the 120 COVID-19 deaths in the county, 59 have been from long-term care facilities, the Health Department reported.
The county remains at the red level on the Health Department’s COVID-19 warning system.
Red is the highest level on the Health Department’s four-color system and indicates widespread and uncontrolled transmission of the virus.
To control the spread of the virus, health officials urge residents to follow the county’s face mask order, which requires residents to wear face masks while in public spaces when social distancing cannot be maintained.
The Health Department also stresses the importance of limiting nonessential travel, avoiding crowds, social distancing, good hand-washing and staying home if you are sick.
