Following the surge in COVID-19 Delta variant cases in Missouri, the state’s attorney general said on Friday that he will file a lawsuit to stop the newly implemented mask injunctions in St. Louis and St. Louis Counties.
Republican Eric Schmidt said on Twitter late Friday that St. Louis citizens “are not subjects-they are free people. As their attorney general, I will file a lawsuit on Monday to stop this. Crazy behavior.”
Local officials announced the mask regulations on Friday and said they will take effect on Monday. The St. Louis Health Department said that under the new regulations, people will be required to wear masks in indoor public places and public transportation.
“We have lost more than 500 St. Louis people due to COVID-19. If our regions don’t work together to protect each other, we may see peak periods when our hospitals and public health systems are overwhelmed,” St. Frederick Dr. Echols, the director of the Department of Health, said in a statement on Friday.
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Eckers said the city and county are taking “joint steps to save lives, to ensure that hospitals can provide the care that residents rely on and protect our children so that they can enjoy a full range of educational opportunities this year.”
As Missouri and other states are grappling with the surge in COVID cases caused by the highly contagious Delta variant, new mask requirements — and Schmidt’s threat to stop them — are coming.
On Wednesday, Missouri had its highest daily total number of COVID cases since mid-January, and health officials reported 2,995 new cases. The star of Kansas City.
In late June, the Center for Infectious Diseases and Research Policy Say Due to the Delta variant and low vaccination rates, the state was at the time a national leader in new COVID infections.
Schmidt’s office did not immediately respond Weekly newspaperRequest for comment on this story.
Schmidt also sued St. Louis County in May over COVID restrictions, including outdoor mask requirements. But according to local radio station KDSK, officials lifted the restrictions shortly after filing a lawsuit.
Schmidt is running to fill the U.S. Senate Roy Blunt (Roy Blunt) seat, he will not run for re-election in 2022.
In a statement, the office of St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones criticized Schmidt’s planned legal action.
“Our priority is to protect the health and well-being of the people in St. Louis City and County. Unfortunately, the Attorney General plans to file another meaningless lawsuit, which will only serve his own political ambitions, not the health of the public. “Said Nick Dunne, the public information officer in the mayor’s office.
Recently, many local governments All over the country It is also mandatory to wear masks again, or to strongly encourage people to wear masks in public.
