FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The City of Springfield and Springfield-Greene County Health Department have provided avenues for citizens to voice their opinions and get their questions answered on the proposed Road to Recovery Phase 3B ordinance that would extend the face covering/masking requirement for areas of public accommodation, distancing, and occupancy limits.
The issue will be brought before City Council in a one-reading emergency bill at the 6:30 p.m. Oct. 5 meeting.
Directions for Citizens:
To voice your opinion on the draft Phase 3B of the Road to Recovery Order that may extend the mandatory masking requirement through Jan. 9, 2021, call the City Clerk’s Office at 417-874-2460; submit written comments electronically at springfieldmo.gov/councilmaskcomments to be reflected in the City Council meeting minutes; or sign up online at springfieldmo.gov/councilsignup to speak at the City Council meeting on Monday, Oct. 5. The deadline to sign up to speak or leave a comment is 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4.
City Council Hotline (417-874-2460)
• To leave a voicemail for City Council to express support of extending the mandatory masking component for the Road to Recovery Phase 3B, press 1.
• To leave a voicemail to express opposition to extending the mandatory masking component for the Road to Recovery Phase 3B, press 2.
• To sign up to speak at the Oct. 5 City Council meeting, press 3.
• To reach the general Coronavirus Information Hotline, press 4.
General Coronavirus Information Hotline (417-874-1211)
• For general coronavirus questions to be connected to the State of Missouri Coronavirus Hotline, press 1.
• To speak to someone from the Springfield-Greene County Health Department about COVID testing, symptoms, exposures or prevention, press 2.
• If you are a business owner or manager with questions about the current or proposed Road to Recovery Order Phase 3B that includes a mandatory masking component, press 3.
• If you are a citizen with questions or concerns about the current or proposed Road to Recovery Order Phase 3B that includes a mandatory masking component, press 4 to speak with someone in the citizen resource center.
• To leave a voicemail to be provided to City Council, press 5.
While COVID-19 cases continue to grow in Springfield, evidence of the success of masking can be seen. Data from the Springfield-Greene County Health Department shows that in the two months following the implementation of Springfield’s masking ordinance, the greatest areas of local case growth were among college-age students who tend to engage in more high-risk activities which may not require masking, such as eating out and attending house parties. This was followed by outbreaks in the jail and long-term care facilities – locations where our masking ordinance was not expected to have an impact, due to the nature of those living situations.
Conversely, Goddard says, we have seen a relatively low percentage of cases in school-aged children—only 8% of positive COVID-19 cases in Greene County have been in kids 5- 17 in the past two weeks (September 14-28). Springfield Public Schools currently requires masking for all students, staff and teachers, except while eating or during P.E. and recess.
Evidence of the impact of masking as part of a comprehensive prevention strategy can also been seen in Springfield’s churches, which have widely implemented Springfield’s masking mandate. Churches continue to make up a very small percentage (less than 2%) of known exposure locations.
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For more information, contact Cora Scott, Director of Public Information & Civic Engagement at 417-380-3352 or [email protected].