Omaha's citywide mask mandate will remain in effect until at least November 24th.
On Tuesday, the City Council voted 5-2 to further extend the face mask ordinance originally put in place in August. Councilman Brinker Harding and Councilwoman Aimee Melton voted against extending the ordinance.
Much of what the council heard from medical experts on Tuesday echoed the statements made by doctors at UNMC/Nebraska Medicine on Monday.
Councilman Chris Jerram was critical about the city’s lack of enforcement, noting that not a single ticket had been written since it went into effect in August. “For those afraid of enforcement, at least to date, you have nothing to fear; there hasn’t been any enforcement. That’s a problem. That’s a reason the rates in our community are going up recently," he said.
Tuesday, Douglas County Health Director Dr. Adi Pour gave an update on the status of COVID-19 in Omaha. She said it’s been a “very disappointing week” from her position, noting the local positivity rate — at more than 12% — is the highest it’s been since late May. The biggest increase in the county has fallen on those ages 20-59.
Pour said that while bed capacity numbers may not be alarming, the number of hospitalizations is causing fatigue among medical staff, particularly in the aftermath of Labor Day weekend gatherings, and as Omaha Public Schools resumes classroom attendance. She warned that cold and dry weather will increase the efficiency of COVID-19.
Pour described five factors that contribute to the increase of cases: school and college being back in session, athletic events taking place, DHM phase 4 relaxing measures, Labor Day family gatherings, and fall and winter weather increasing the efficiency of the virus as well keeping people indoors.
Dr. Mark Rupp, chief of UNMC’s division of infectious diseases, talked about the impact of COVID-19 on hospitals and healthcare professionals. “I appeal to you that it is not the time to relax our guard against COVID-19 and I urge you to maintain the current mask mandate,” said Dr. Rupp.
Councilman Ben Gray asked Rupp if he sees us approaching a crisis. Dr. Rupp responded: “We see warning signs. If they’re ignored, we could easily approach a crisis.”
Dr. Ali Kahn, dean of UNMC’s College of Public Health talked about COVID-19 infection data trends in the U.S., particularly in areas that have face mask mandates in place. Only cancer and heart disease will kill more people than COVID-19 this year, and we still have four months left in the year, he said. “We have the power to affect this virus' trajectory,” Dr. Kahn said, calling the nation’s COVID-19 outbreak a “unique American failure.”
“Masks work," he said. "Ask the 1,700 health care workers who died if they would have wanted an N95. Masks work. Masks save lives.”
To provide an opposing perspective, Melton invited Dr. Lee Merritt, an orthopedic surgeon, to talk about COVID-19 information, prevention, and testing. In her comments, Melton said she “used to think masks work,” but now she doesn’t. Merritt said she believes COVID-19 has been made worse by wearing masks, and said more studies should be done to show the benefits of Vitamin D and zinc.
During his comments, Jerram later criticized Merritt’s dismissal of the more than 210,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., which he said could have been prevented. “Our society has become ‘What about me?’ instead of ‘What about we?’ ” he said.
Councilman Rich Pahls said the business community and schools are asking for the city’s help in promoting use of face masks to prevent community spread of COVID-19.
Harding said he thought the ordinance would have more “teeth” if Omaha could convince surrounding communities to follow suit with a face mask requirement.
At several points during the face mask ordinance discussion, a few members of the council had stern words for members of the public in the audience, calling out their behavior as disrespectful of the medical professionals' time and expertise as well as the council — and even democracy — itself. “We can disagree, but we need to respect each other,” Melton said. “Let’s not laugh and make a scene."
Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert’s office issued a response shortly after the council vote:
“We are all listening and learning together as this pandemic progresses. What we have learned is that we need to do everything possible to reduce the risk of exposure and infection. Our best medical experts tell us masks do reduce the risk. A mandate [sic] will help us keep students in school, employees working and keep our health care system open. We must be nimble and quick and adapt to the information we have and at this time, the information shows the extension of the mask mandate [sic] is warranted." - Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert