CLAYTON — A ºüÀêÊÓƵ County judge on Friday denied Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s request for a preliminary injunction against the county’s mask mandate and dismissed three of four counts in the state’s lawsuit alleging the public health order was unlawful.
Despite the ruling, the county’s mask mandate may not be in place for much longer, ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page said.
If COVID-19 numbers in the region continue to decline, Page said his administration could lift the order by the end of the month.
“Our numbers look promising,†Page said in a tweet, “and our public health experts are hopeful that we can move from a mask requirement to mask recommendation by the end of the month.â€
Our numbers look promising in â¦â© and our public health experts are hopeful that we can move from a mask requirement to mask recommendation by the end of the month.
— County Executive Sam Page (@DrSamPage)
Shortly after Page’s announcement that he could lift the mask mandate by the end of the month, Schmitt claimed victory, alleging it was his lawsuit that forced the decision. The case was set for a March 9 hearing.
People are also reading…
“He’s dropping his illegal mask mandate right before our court date,†Schmitt said in a tweet. “The last Premier of. Covidstan doesn’t want to lose in court again. Predicable. #NoMaskMandatesâ€
But in an order handed down Friday afternoon, Judge Richard Stewart turned down the request for the preliminary injunction and dismissed the bulk of Schmitt’s case.
Stewart allowed Schmitt to continue the case with one remaining count: that the mask order is “arbitrary and capricious.â€
But the judge said Schmitt’s argument was “vague and conclusory†and wasn’t specific enough in its claim that the county didn’t consider “large swath[s] of relevant science, data, statistics, studies, or alternatives.â€
He gave Schmitt 15 days to amend the petition.
In a lengthy statement, Schmitt spokesman Chris Nuelle said the attorney general will continue to litigate the remaining count in the case but will not appeal the dismissal of the three others.
“This fight is far from over and we will continue to litigate this case vigorously,†Nuelle said.
“Count four of our lawsuit is still ongoing, and we plan to further prove to the Court that mask mandates are ineffective and the negative health outcomes outweigh any benefits. We’ve beaten Sam Page in court before, and we plan to do it again. We’re pleased that the Court correctly concluded that the mask mandate does not apply to schools and schoolchildren, and the Court’s order specifically exempts schools. Further, we will continue to work with the legislature to make it clear that these mask mandates are illegal under the law. Make no mistake, we will not stop until illegal mask mandates imposed by petty tyrants like Sam Page are rescinded, and we will continue to fight for the people of ºüÀêÊÓƵ County.â€
Page tweeted later that he was pleased with the ruling “dismissing the Attorney General’s unfounded lawsuit. Despite some comments to the contrary, not one of @STLCounty’s COVID-19 public health orders has ever been invalidated.â€
Schmitt, who had sued Jan. 5 to block the mask mandate a day after the County Council approved the measure, had argued the county’s mask order violated a state law requiring local politicians’ approval of public health orders because the council had previously rejected a mask mandate in July.
But Stewart on Friday said Schmitt’s argument was too “expansive†of an interpretation of the state law.
“The County Council’s act of terminating or rescinding prior orders does not preclude it from enacting similar new orders,†Stewart said.
Stewart also rejected two other arguments Schmitt made: that the county mask order could not be applied to school districts, and that the county could only require masking by making it an ordinance, with criminal penalties.
The mask order specifies that it doesn’t apply to schools, Stewart said.
Schmitt was asking the court “to enjoin the county from action it is not taking, against an institution it is not regulating,†Stewart said.
The judge also said there is no requirement that the mask order contain criminal penalties because the government has “broad discretion†to determine how laws are enforced.
Page on Friday shared a letter from Dr. Faisal Khan, acting public health director, citing “rapid improvement†in the decline of new daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations from all-time record highs over December and January.
The statement indicated the county could lift its mask mandate earlier than previously expected; Page had said earlier this week that he would consider the idea once the county’s seven-day average of new cases dropped below 50 and the positivity rate below 8%.
The latest county data available shows the average daily rate of 178 new cases per day and the positivity rate of 11.7%. But the numbers are a marked decline from a week ago, when the county was seeing nearly 300 new cases a day.
“We expect that this continuing improvement in pandemic tracking metrics will allow us to reconsider the status of the existing Public Health Face Covering Order by the end of February 2022,†Khan said.
Lifting the county’s mask order would follow similar decisions by Democratic-led states dropping their mask mandates and other restrictions in response to improving data. Washington and New Mexico were among the latest states on Friday to lift mask mandates.
The state of Illinois on Feb. 28 will end its requirement that face coverings be worn in most indoor spaces.
Missouri has not had a statewide mask requirement, but ºüÀêÊÓƵ County was among local Democratic-led jurisdictions with one. A mask mandate remains in effect in the city of ºüÀêÊÓƵ until March 6.
In Kansas City, a mask mandate for schools expired Thursday after Mayor Quinton Lucas said he would not extend the mask rule.
Khan, in his letter, also warned that even after weeks of decline, COVID-19 continues to spread at high levels.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines high transmission as more than 100 new daily cases per 100,000 residents. As of Friday, the county was seeing 125 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents.
“Even though there is reason for optimism, it should be noted that COVID-19 transmission in the community continues to remain between ‘very high’ and ‘high’ levels,†Khan said.
And the county needed to “remain vigilant†in monitoring COVID-19 spread in the case of new variants of the deadly airborne disease.
“While we continue to be hopeful, the experience of the last two years of this pandemic shows us that surges can occur with new variants/sub-variants during the summer and fall. As the virus adapts we must adapt along with it. We continue to remain vigilant in monitoring the situation on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis.â€
About 62% of county residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and a total 70% have had at least one dose.
The county offers COVID-19 testing and vaccination at its three public health clinics. Appointments can be made at .
Updated at 6:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18