Trigger Happy? St. Louis Mask Mandate Abruptly Canceled in Just 24 Hours

Leftists are getting all too hungry for a taste of the power they had over the population during the 2020 pandemic…

At least, that’s how it appears in cities like St. Louis, MO – where a mask mandate was imposed, then rescinded, all within a 24 hour time period.

The health director of the St. Louis had told city workers that, beginning on January 5, they would be required to wear masks when indoors or riding with another passenger in city-owned vehicles.

The mask mandate was originally based on a spike in influenza cases, as well as COVID and RSV hospitalizations.

However, around 24 hours after it was imposed, the mask mandate was canceled after it received push-back from city workers who did not want to comply with the rule.

The city health department cited a need to “clarify the information” as the reason for abruptly reversing course.

St. Louis Abruptly Rescinds Mask Mandate 24 Hours After Issuance

On Friday, the St. Louis health department said it had conducted a further review of the data and wanted to ‘clarify the information’ around infection levels
👉https://t.co/9B0i3yjBYe pic.twitter.com/qLpg2YgJf4

— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) January 7, 2024

Read this thread!

Unelected bureaucrats like this St. Louis Health Dept director are crazy.

This little dictator imposed a mask mandate yesterday for all public employees in St. Louis.

No consultation with the hospital or elected officials. Just waved her wand and made it… https://t.co/SE2OJ22bkU

— Tiffany Justice (@4TiffanyJustice) January 6, 2024

While St. Louis didn’t give much of an explanation for their reversal of the mask mandate, one X user posted a chart showing how masks never helped with the city’s COVID cases the first time around…

Apparently St. Louis’ public health director rescinded her unilateral mask mandate for city employees after less than 24 hours because hospital officials denied they were “overwhelmed”

Maybe it was also because masks never made a difference in St. Louis anyway https://t.co/IDRqwJDDh9 pic.twitter.com/yrPyBq4IeL

— Ian Miller (@ianmSC) January 6, 2024

St. Louis Today reported locally on the abrupt withdrawal of the newly-imposed mask mandate:

City Hall ended a renewed mask mandate for city workers Friday afternoon under pressure from Jefferson City.

City spokesman Nick Dunne said in a press release that the health department now just “strongly recommends” employees mask up indoors, citing a recent rise in reports of respiratory illnesses in the region.

Dunne did not say exactly why the change was made. But Gov. Mike Parson’s office promptly claimed credit.

Parson consistently opposed mask mandates throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. And a spokesman for Parson, Jonathan Shifflett, noted his boss had reiterated that opposition on conservative talk radio as recently as Wednesday.

“A call was made,” Shifflett said. “He kept his promise. And now St. Louis is reversing course on that.”

The back-and-forth marked a brief revival of a familiar fight over public health policy between liberal St. Louis Democrats and conservative Capitol Republicans. The two sides spent years challenging one another over mask mandates and business closures in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a number of GOP officials immediately tweeted their disdain after they heard the latest news.

The change in policy also followed confusion about the data the health department cited in its decision and a lukewarm reception from some city employees.

The brouhaha began Thursday afternoon, when the city health department told city employees they would have to wear masks indoors starting Friday, and put out a press release urging the public to follow suit.

The health department justified both moves with a series of alarming statistics. It said that hospitalizations for COVID-19 in the region jumped 38% in December, that RSV cases in the BJC HealthCare system were well above benchmarks set in previous years, and that flu infections were on a similar trajectory.

“With activity of winter viruses rising at such a rapid pace, we must take action to slow transmission and prevent strain on our hospital systems,” Dr. Mati Hlatschwayo Davis, the health director, said in the press release.

But just days before, when area hospital officials had noted an increase in flu and COVID cases, they didn’t sound any alarms.

SSM Health’s Dr. Alex Garza, who led the region’s pandemic task force, had told the Post-Dispatch that while emergency departments and urgent cares were busy, they weren’t overwhelmed like they once were. COVID-19 patients were not as sick because of vaccination and previous exposure.

Publicly available data also showed that despite recent increases, COVID hospitalizations were nowhere near the peaks in previous years, and the flu season had so far been milder than in recent years.

RiverFront Times also covered this development:

Less than one day after issuing a mask mandate for city employees, the City of St. Louis has pulled back a bit on its authority:The mandate has now become a strong recommendation, with strong recommendation in (actual) italics.

The new guidance went out to city employees at 2:45 p.m. on the same day the new mandate had gone into effect. It follows some grumbling from mask foes suggesting the city’s health director, Dr. Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis, did not have the authority under state law to issue such a mandate.

Officials confirm that staffers for Governor Mike Parson reached out to the mayor’s office prior to the mandate being rescinded. However, the mayor’s office did not mention that conversation in their statement about the decision.

The new email to employees states, “This will update our policy as follows: masks are strongly recommended, not required. The updated administrative regulation and accompanying DOH communique can be found here.

“Mayor Jones supports the steps Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo-Davis and the Department have taken to safeguard the health of employees at this time of rising illness and encourages community members and employees to carefully review the recommendations from the Department of Health to keep staff and community members safe.”