JEFFERSON CITY — A court ruling barring local governments in Missouri from imposing COVID-19 orders won’t formally go into effect until next month, Gov. Mike Parson’s administration advised Monday.
Meanwhile, ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page insisted his order, which requires vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals 5 and older to wear masks in public places indoors and on transit, stands.
And Page, at a news conference Monday morning, sharply criticized Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green, who issued the ruling last week, calling him “an elected Republican judge, a politician who has to run for reelection in a rural Trump-loving county.â€
In an email Monday from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, local health departments were told Green’s ruling was not final and may still be appealed.
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“It is not currently in effect, as it is stayed by court order for 30 days,†wrote Tiffany Bayer, local health liaison for DHSS. “Further, there is an appeal pending the decision so this matter is far from determined.â€
But the attorney general’s office has already signaled it wasn’t planning to appeal the decision, making it unlikely that anything will change once the decision goes into effect next month as per court rules.
Asked about the email, DHSS spokeswoman Lisa Cox said, “There is an error in the email though — you’ve likely seen that AGO has indicated in the media that they will not appeal.â€
The Post-Dispatch last week reported the attorney general’s office was not planning to appeal.
In his ruling, Green said all health orders related to the spread of COVID-19 in the state should be lifted because they violate the state constitution’s separation of powers clause affecting the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.
The lawsuit challenged regulations such as quarantines, masking orders and business closures to address concerns about the spread of the deadly disease.
Green said such orders were illegal.
“This case is about whether Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services regulations can abolish representative government in the creation of public health laws, and whether it can authorize closure of a school or assembly based on the unfettered opinion of an unelected official. This court finds it cannot,†Green wrote.
Green ordered that the rules be stricken from state regulations but also that all existing health orders issued by local health authorities are “null and void.â€
The email from DHSS said the ruling does not impact “any powers or authorities at this time.â€
“In short, it has no effect at this point,†Bayer wrote.
Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate who has gone to court to fight health orders, has argued in other cases that mask mandates and other orders impose burdens on schools and churches and violate a state law giving local politicians authority over health orders.
Schmitt also is suing ºüÀêÊÓƵ County to block it from requiring masks. A hearing in that case is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Local impact
On Monday, Page asserted Green’s ruling had no effect in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, calling it “dangerous†and a potential threat to other public health work that includes restaurant inspections and animal control measures.
The county’s attorneys are still considering the impact of the ruling last week, Page said. But he insisted the county’s mask rule remains in place.
“We’ve been consistent for over a year now: wearing masks is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your neighbors from COVID-19,†Page said. “That was true a year ago and it’s true now. And it will be true a month from now, regardless of the politics of the moment.â€
Despite Page’s statement, the county’s public website was updated to remove references to any mask order after Green’s ruling.
Chris Ave, a spokesman for the Public Health Department, confirmed the removal Monday. County attorneys directed the department to take down the mask order notices while they respond the ruling but did not provide more details, Ave said. Health officials continue to advise residents to wear masks, he said.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ city officials last week said Green’s ruling does not apply because the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Board of Aldermen has voted in favor of health orders under the direction of a new state law.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ-area school superintendents met Monday to discuss Green’s ruling and its impact on their masking and quarantine policies.
All school districts in ºüÀêÊÓƵ city and county are currently under mask mandates. Quarantine policies for schools have been crafted with recommendations from local health departments.
Legal advisers have said the ruling does not toss out current policies in schools, according to Christine McDonald, a spokeswoman for EdPlus, a nonprofit that serves 60 member school districts in the region.
“Everything remains in place for now,†McDonald said. “School boards are elected bodies who have approved a policy ... taking guidance from both CDC and the health department. They want to do what’s right for students and staff to keep them safe.â€
The superintendents plan to meet again Wednesday to discuss the topic.
Local Catholic schools can also maintain their current health policies because the ruling “did not challenge the intent of health orders or invalidate their messages,†according to a letter sent to principals and pastors Saturday from the Archdiocese of ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
“The court ruling does not change the fact that decisions can be made at the local level,†the letter reads.
The three-member county commission in Franklin County said Monday the health department would stop issuing COVID-related orders, effective immediately.
COVID-19 has killed more than 15,000 Missourians, including 12 in the past seven days, according to DHSS.
The agency recorded 7,187 confirmed cases of the deadly respiratory virus in the past week. More than 770 people have been hospitalized over the past seven days, with 179 in intensive care units.
The state ranks 39th in the nation for vaccinations, with 50.9% of the population fully vaccinated.
Nassim Benchaabane and Blythe Bernhard of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.