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Cities struggle with COVID surge
By Taylor Messick
Last Updated: November 19, 2020

In a split vote Nov. 17, the Bel Aire City Council turned down a resolution that would have allowed the police department to issue fines between $250 and $500 for noncompliance with Sedgwick County health orders.

Police Chief Darrell Atteberry did not take a position on the resolution when asked about enforcement. He said discretion would be used by his department if these penalties were made enforceable. He expressed concerns over situations he has seen in the national media regarding unruly citizens who had to be arrested after refusing to comply with police officers attempting to enforce similar orders. He was also concerned about the potential for residents calling and reporting each other for not wearing masks and having to mitigate each situation.

Atteberry said he has not had issues getting people to comply with wearing masks in Bel Aire but said a penalty could potentially be an effective deterrent if the situation arose.

"Having another tool in the toolbox is usually a good thing," said Atteberry.

To help curb the spread of the coronavirus, Sedgwick County put into place Nov. 14 tighter restrictions on bars, restaurants and mass gatherings. The new order also requires masks when social distancing is not possible, and it directs businesses and organizations to inform the public of the mask requirement.

The order is in effect until Dec. 31. Enforcement was to start Nov. 18, but the county left enforcement up to municipalities. Bel Aire has been the only city in north Sedgwick County so far to formally discuss the issue.

Atteberry noted that businesses already have the right to trespass customers. Those who cause bigger issues can also be charged with disorderly conduct. Atteberry said adding another tool would give the department the power to use any and all appropriate actions to deal with situations.

"We would appreciate cooperation from our citizens and those visiting our city to comply with the laws — but not everybody does," said Atteberry. "… It's not something we're going to go look for. But maybe in those special situations when those special people go into a business hacking and coughing and they refuse to leave and they're scaring the other customers — that could be the person we would write this for."

Another concern expressed by Atteberry was in regards to assistance from the county. He questioned what would happen if the department needed the county's help if a situation arose at a care facility or larger venue and the city was not supportive of the county's health initiatives. He said there are situations where his department could require assistance from the county and he would prefer that to be available. Denial of this order could compromise the city's ability to ask for the county's help in enforcing health orders at large venues or handling those found in violation.

Mayor Jim Benage said he was against the resolution and urged the city to consider a different approach. He recommended a letter urging citizens to follow health orders and thanking them for doing so instead of creating a penalty.

Council member Jeff Elshoff disputed information from Sedgwick County Health Officer Dr. Garold Minns. He questioned the effectiveness of masks and said he had not seen enough data to prove that they help. Elshoff attended the meeting via Zoom because he recently tested positive for COVID-19.

Benage agreed with Elshoff.

"I understand the issue of people dying and that's tragic and it's sad and I wish it wasn't that way," Benage said. "We do know 97 percent of people who get this virus don't even go to the hospital. But what's happening is the three percent are overwhelming the hospitals and that's really bad and really tragic. … I'm not trying to say that's OK. I'm not excusing it. But I do agree that we don't have the science behind this to make this kind of decision. We hear a lot that you have to follow the science. But in what I'm seeing, I don't think the science is there. I didn't vet it but I did see a graph that said those counties in Kansas that are mandating masks have double the increase rate of counties that haven't mandated masks. I don't know if that's valid and I don't want to tell you it's valid because I haven't vetted it and I wouldn't. But it is something that somebody put out there."

Council member Joel Schroeder has witnessed the seriousness of this virus on a daily basis. He was passionately in favor this resolution and said the city should do all that it can to help save every possible life.

"As someone who works in a hospital, I was sick with COVID," said Schroeder. "I was sick for a week and it wasn't the worst sickness I've probably ever had in my life. So maybe it would be very easy for me to say this is no big deal — that you'll be sick for awhile and then go on with your life. But unfortunately I have a much more personal connection with this. … I am the one who has to sit with the family in the hospital while they are sitting outside a glass door watching a loved one die. I am the one that has to be there and say, ‘No, you can't go visit your family.' … I work with nurses and doctors that are all just about ready to quit. … If I can just keep one more person out of that hospital with COVID, I do not care how much I inconvenience you."

Council member Diane Wynn said she does not "believe this is city business."

Council member Justin Smith said he is in favor of wearing masks but did not support the resolution.

"In my mind, this is a completely different issue than whether or not people should wear masks," said Smith. "When I'm thinking about this, I just don't know that we have the need for additional help from Sedgwick County or the need to introduce additional complexity into our system of how we go about enforcing our laws. … It's not that I don't think COVID is serious — it is. I know people are dying and I fully back council member Schroeder's sentiment and his comments. I just don't think this specific thing is something we should be looking at. … I feel like the City of Bel Aire is doing what it can at this point — to encourage the mask wearing and fight COVID. I do know that the numbers are going up and almost 25 percent of cases are positive. That's really bad and it's really high. … I don't know what the right answer is there. I don't think doing this will make any difference in that number."

Council member John Welch voted in favor of the resolution with Schroeder. He said he noticed a substantial difference in the number of people wearing masks in public in Wichita after their initial order was lifted. He said he would rather not have to use law enforcement for this purpose and wishes people "would have done it out of basic regard for humanity."

"Wearing a mask is right," said Welch. "I believe you are not looking in the right places if you're not finding the data to support that. People should be wearing masks, and that's all there is to it. I think it's just rude when they don't. … I was reading an article the other day about people in the hospital with COVID denying they had COVID even while they're dying of it. Up until the minute they take their last breath, ‘No, I don't have COVID. COVID doesn't exist.' We have to find a way to teach people about COVID."





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