BREAKING: Masks needed for council meetings

Mayor Ramon Hayes issued an executive order Monday, July 26 that people attending “all special and regular La Conner Town Council meetings shall be required to wear a facemask, regardless of vaccination status.”

Seven statements of fact are listed in support of the decision, starting with “COVID-19 case rates have increased in recent weeks, and there have been increased outbreaks and hospitalizations in the month of July.”

The order notes sources of transmission, from churches and weddings to council meetings. It identifies tourists and “reports of people who have traveled while contagious.” It makes the point that “unvaccinated younger people who are becoming very ill and requiring hospitalization.”

The public health officers of eight, west of the Cascades counties, from San Juan to King, are referenced for their recommending mask wearing in indoor public settings to reduce “the risk of COVID-19 to the public,”

It cites Dr. Howard Leibrand, Skagit County’s public health officer, who earlier Monday issued a statement “urging masking for everyone entering a public indoor space, regardless of vaccination status.” Leibrand called getting vaccinated the “strongest recommendation that I can make as a health professional.”

Skagit Public Health reported two COVID-19 cases attributed to the delta variant July 15. Their statement noted “it can be assumed that the variant has spread more widely given that sequencing is not done on all tests.”

The order is in effect for five weeks, through Aug. 31.

The mayor cited his authority under La Conner’s municipal code and the Washington Revised Code for his action.