Stillwater City Council extends mask mandate through May 25

Feb. 25—It took the Stillwater City Council less than three minutes to give final approval to a new ordinance extending the city's mask mandate through May 25. The councilors also attached an emergency clause allowing it to take effect immediately.

In a City Council meeting Monday, Mayor Will Joyce said the mask ordinance has wide support and communities with mask mandates have been shown to have lower rates of infection.

In spite of Stillwater's mask mandate, Payne County was a hot spot for the virus last year.

The City of Stillwater has been under an emergency declaration due to the COVID-19 pandemic since March 15, 2020. A provision of one emergency declaration that required people to wear face coverings was dropped after businesses reported employees tasked with enforcing it were being abused and a threat was phoned in to the municipal building.

The City Council first acted together in July to adopt Ordinance 3452, which mandates face coverings in most public places.

That ordinance requires people to wear face coverings over their nose and mouth while inside businesses, venues and other public settings, as well as while outside if they can't maintain six feet of distance.

Children under the age of 5 are exempt from the mask requirement.

People with developmental disabilities or a medical or mental health condition are also exempt but those people are asked to consider wearing a face shield that wraps around the sides of the face and extends below the chin.

Restaurant patrons are exempt while eating and drinking.

People who are walking or exercising outdoors don't have to wear face coverings if they are with people from their household or they can maintain adequate physical distance.

Masks are also not required in settings like dentist or medical offices while receiving treatments, or while swimming or using a splash pad.

People are not required to wear face coverings while in personal spaces like vehicles, offices or their private homes. They also don't have to be worn in workspaces the public can't access, although social distance between employees must be maintained.

Businesses are required to post signs at their entrances informing the public of the ordinance and can be fined if they don't.

Schools are allowed to use their own safety plans regarding mask requirements for students.

The original ordinance had a sunset date of Nov. 30, but the City Council adopted Ordinance 3463 in November, which extended it through Feb. 28 with no changes in its provisions.

Joyce said the latest extension is designed to get people through the end of the school year at both Stillwater Public Schools and Oklahoma State University.

The ordinance will automatically terminate May 25, unless it's extended. It will also terminate if the City's COVID-19 emergency declaration is allowed to expire.

Stillwater's current emergency declaration is set to expire Feb. 28, but Joyce is expected to extend it, as well.

@mcharlesNP