Growing number of Tulsa suburbs heeding the call to implement mask mandates
Kevin Canfield Nov 18, 2020 Tulsa World
Throughout the pandemic, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum has been consistent and persistent in his message to his colleagues in the suburbs: We need your help to slow the spread of this deadly virus.
Since July, when Tulsa became the first city in Tulsa County to approve a mask mandate, Bynum has been waiting and waiting for other communities to follow suit.
Recently, as the nation faces another surge in COVID-19 cases, the cooperation he has so desperately urged seems to be taking shape.
Jenks passed a mask mandate last week. Monday night, the Sapulpa City Council approved a mask mandate that borrows heavily from Jenks’. And on Wednesday night, Glenpool city councilors are scheduled to vote on a mask ordinance.
“I think it is time to address it, and I am going to encourage the other members in that way,” said Glenpool Mayor Tim Fox.
In Owasso, city leaders are urging residents to take the virus seriously but have not gone so far as to mandate masks. The City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved a resolution recommending that all residents wear masks and practice social distancing and other preventive measures to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“The city of Owasso and the Owasso Police Department pledge their support to those places requiring the use of masks/facial coverings, and pledge to provide assistance in instances where individuals refuse to comply with the standards established by the business owner(s) or property owner(s),” the resolution states.
The Sand Springs City Council, meanwhile, has scheduled a special meeting for Monday night to discuss a COVID-19 response plan that won’t necessarily be focused on a mask mandate.
“We know that that is not the whole solution,” Sand Springs Mayor James Spoon said of a mask mandate. “... I think we are going to discuss all the options we can use to change our increasing COVID rates and affect them. I think we’ll look at social distancing and crowd size.”
Officials in Catoosa and Broken Arrow say that although COVID-19 has been a topic of discussion, they have no immediate plans to implement mask mandates.
“The mask mandate is always in consideration but we are still continuing to follow the CDC guidelines,” said Catoosa City Manager John Blish. “And with the new mandates coming out or the new recommendations coming out from the Governor’s Office, then we are going to continue following those.”
The pandemic was scheduled to be a topic of discussion during the Broken Arrow City Council meeting Tuesday night but no action was expected. Mayor Craig Thurmond said Monday that he doesn’t expect the council to pass a mask mandate any time soon.
“I just don’t see our council doing it. I don’t see us voting for that,” he said. “We don’t pass ordinances that we don’t enforce so I don’t see our council doing it.”
Thurmond said the city’s trespassing laws could be used by business owners who don’t want people to enter their buildings without a mask.
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“Right now, if someone comes to your store, you have a sign up, and they are not wearing a mask, you have a constitutional right to call and say they are trespassing, the same as the law in Tulsa,” Thurmond said.
A report issued by the Oklahoma State Department of Health last week states that from Aug. 1 through Nov. 10, communities with mask mandates saw their COVID-19 numbers increase by 34%. In those parts of the state where mask mandates are not in place, cases increased by a combined 109% for the same time period.
Bynum said he was grateful to Jenks and Sapulpa for their efforts to slow the spread of the virus and that he hopes other municipalities will follow their lead.
“In Oklahoma, in hard times we’ve always come to the aid of our neighbors in need,” Bynum said. “That’s what made the last few weeks so frustrating. Our medical professionals who are courageously fighting this virus are telling us what they need, and for a while it felt like Tulsa was standing alone in its willingness to respond.”
The need for a regional approach to slowing the spread of COVID-19 is reflected in the fact that since September well over 60% of COVID-19 patients in Tulsa hospitals have been from outside the city, Bynum said.
“Every local health care leader in Tulsa has told us they need mask ordinances to slow the spread of the virus,” he said.
Officials in Bixby, who previously strongly encouraged residents to wear masks, could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
Bynum also encouraged people to take other preventive measures such as washing their hands frequently and social distancing.
Taken together, it beats the alternative, he said.
“Look at the other options out there: occupancy limits, elective surgery bans, shutdowns,” Bynum said. “All of these are measures that can help the hospital capacity, but they have harmful economic impacts. With masks, there isn’t a negative economic impact.”