Residents of Greenwood still must comply with the city’s mask mandate, which is in effect until June 15, despite a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday that people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer have to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors for most settings.
The CDC said it would defer to local laws, rules and regulations still requiring facial coverings. On June 15, the Greenwood City Council will vote on whether to continue its mandate.
The council first unanimously passed a mask mandate last July but gave no end date for it. In March, the council approved a resolution to extend that mandate until April 20 — and on that date, the council voted 6-1 to issue a new mandate that is scheduled to end June 15.
Ward 2’s Lisa Cookston cast the sole dissenting vote against extending the mandate, saying that she had heard from business owners who were ready for it to end and that the decision to wear a mask should be a personal choice. On Thursday, she maintained that position, saying that now that more people in the area are vaccinated, it’s time to lift the mask requirement.
However, Ward 3’s Ronnie Stevenson, Ward 5’s Andrew Powell and Ward 7’s Carl Palmer said they aren’t ready to do that yet.
Stevenson said the CDC recommendation was “good news” but also said that he would like for more residents throughout Leflore County to get their shots before the city’s mask mandate is lifted. Ideally, he would like for at least 50% of the county’s population to get fully vaccinated before masks are no longer required in Greenwood.
Still, he said, “I will say this mask mandate in Greenwood will hopefully end soon.”
Powell said that he would like for at least 75% of the county’s population to be fully
vaccinated before the city’s mandate is lifted. He also is concerned about how effective the vaccine is against the variants of COVID-19.
The CDC has said in its latest recommendation that “early data show the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others.”
The CDC deems a person “fully vaccinated” two weeks after he or she has received the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or two weeks after a single dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
According to the Mississippi State Department of Health’s COVID-19 vaccine tracker, 35% of Leflore County’s population had been fully vaccinated as of Thursday.
Palmer said that “even though the CDC has said that mask wearing should not be required in certain situations, I’m in favor of maintaining our ordinance until the 15th of June.” He said he’s not sure how he’ll vote then and will wait to see where things stand.
He said he hopes that more residents throughout the county will get vaccinated.
Ward 1’s Johnny Jennings, Ward 4’s Charles McCoy and Ward 6’s David Jordan could not be reached for comment.
Mayor Carolyn McAdams, who does not have a vote regarding the passage of city resolutions, has said in the past that the mask mandate is no longer warranted since people throughout the area have been getting vaccinated.
Violators of the city’s mask mandate can face fines up to $1,000. However, the mayor said last month that the police will no longer enforce the mask mandate. Since last summer, only two people have been fined for violating it. Each was ordered to pay $424.25 in fines and court costs.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
