ENID, OK - Due to the record number of COVID-19 cases in Garfield County and Enid, a mask mandate will be considered during the Mayor and Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting on December 1, 2020. The number of current cases in Garfield County is now over 700. In Enid, the current cases are 629, with 33 deaths, and 2,653 recovered.
The meetings will be held on December 1, 2020 at the Stride Bank Center. The Study Session will begin at 5:00 pm, followed by the Mayor and Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting at 6:30 pm. See the Emergency Declarations here. You will need to sign in to make a public comment.
The Enid City Commission voted down an ordinance in July that would have required residents to wear masks in public areas and when social distancing would not have been possible. An emergency meeting was held that went for over four hours.
It was defeated by a vote of 5-2. Ward 3 Commissioner Ben Ezzell and Ward 4 Commissioner Jonathan Waddell voted in favor of the mandate. Mayor George Pankonin, Ward 1 Commissioner Jerry Allen, Ward 2 Commissioner Derwin Norwood, Ward 5 Commissioner Rob Stallings and Ward 6 Commissioner David Mason voted against.
That emergency declaration would have allowed the City of Enid to impose $100 to $200 fines for noncompliance of the mandate. Although it added "teeth" to policies already in place, Enid Police Chief Brian O’Rourke thought the ordinance would be unenforceable.
Public health officials from Garfield County Health Department, INTEGRIS and St. Mary’s leaned toward some type of policy to help slow the rising cases of COVID-19. There was worry that beds would begin to fill up with more cases and the eventual onset of the flu season.
Garfield County at that time had 138 total positive cases with 95 recovered and two deaths. There were 41 active cases in Garfield County with an average of about five new cases a day.
In August, another proposed mask mandate failed 4-3. Ward 3 Commissioner Ben Ezzell, Ward 2 Commissioner Derwin Norwood and Ward 4 Commissioner Jonathan Waddell voted in favor of the mandate. Mayor George Pankonin, Ward 1 Commissioner Jerry Allen, Ward 5 Commissioner Rob Stallings and Ward 6 Commissioner David Mason voted against.
Mayor Pankonin also canceled a special meeting for a third mask mandate proposal when there were not enough votes for it to pass.
There will always be two sides to every story. Thank GOD reason ruled over fear-based mandates. FACT: flu season happens every year in the United States. I vote AGAINST mandated masks, forced social distancing, mass vaccinations, and every attempt to socially control the public!