Foreign-Born Health Official Orders Surprise Mask Mandate in Major American City – Then the Mayor Steps In
After a St. Louis health official summarily decided to bring back masking mandates at City Hall because she felt the flu bug was virulent enough to justify the move, the mayor stepped in to bring some sanity to the situation.
On Wednesday, St. Louis Health Director Dr. Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis issued an order that would have forced all employees, elected officials and visitors to wear medical face masks inside City Hall, according to the Riverfront Times of St. Louis.
Indeed, Hlatshwayo Davis even demanded that city officials would have to mask up when riding in city vehicles while on the job.
It was presumed that the health chief meant that employees had to mask up in vehicles when there were at least two of them riding together, but her policy announcement was not exactly clear on that point.
Hlatshwayo Davis, who was born in Zimbabwe, cited COVID-19 as well as other viral infections currently making their way through the population as justification for her order.
“The number of flu cases this season is 55 percent higher than the highest median value of the past five years, and continues to trend sharply upward,” she wrote in her order, according to the Times. “Similarly, RSV positive tests in BJC’s health system are 190 percent higher than the highest median value of the previous 4-years.”
“For COVID-19, 270 people in the St. Louis region were hospitalized with COVID-19 during the week of 12/23/23, a 26 percent increase over the previous week, and a 38 percent increase from one month prior,” Hlatshwayo Davis said.
“Wastewater surveillance also shows rapidly increasing viral activity in the City and St. Louis region,” she said, adding, “With activity of winter viruses rising at such a rapid pace, we must take action to slow transmission and prevent strain on our hospital systems.”