Published on August 6, 2020 in the Mangum Star
Masks in Mangum are now required for the second time since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Mayor Mary Jane Scott signed a new emergency order last Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. that requires masks to be worn in city limits.
The announcement for the new mandate, which came over Facebook late Tuesday evening, and did not include the actual order, spawned many questions about the order’s rules and enforcements regarding fines, church services and restaurants.
“At 4:30 p.m., the Mayor signed an amendment to the Declaration of Emergency which orders, effective immediately mask wear in the corporate Limits of the City of Mangum is mandatory,” the Facebook announcement said. “Masks are mandatory when entering any business that is open to the public as well as when within 6 feet of any other person in public. This wear order is in effect for two weeks, expiring at 12:01 AM on August 12th, and may be extended as needed. Failure to wear a mask is considered a Misdemeanor under the City of Mangum Code of Ordinances.”
The order has since been uploaded to the City of Mangum’s website, and the Mangum Star spoke with Mayor Scott to get further explanation on the new order.
According to the order, anyone entering a business open to the public in Mangum, as well as anyone within six feet of another person, is required to wear masks.
The order is in effect until August 11, and after that, masks are just “highly encouraged.”
According to the update on Facebook, not wearing a mask is considered a misdemeanor in Mangum.
When asked about that and a fine, Scott said they don’t want to give people tickets for not wearing a mask. She said they ask anyone going to a store, for instance, to wear a mask, but, “If they say, ‘no I don’t want to,’ hopefully the business will say, ‘we’ll I’m sorry you can’t come in here.’”
She said they want everybody to wear a mask, but only if someone goes into a store and absolutely refuses to put one on would it be an issue.
Scott said per the new order, people do need to wear masks to restaurants areas except when they are eating. On churches, Scott said churches are separate from other businesses. She said they can do their own thing.
According to the new order, “it is at the discretion of religious leaders when and if social distancing measures should be applied.”
It goes on to say all attendees to places of worship “should” continue to wear masks or face coverings “for their own protection,” and religious leaders “should consider making it a priority for the safety, health and welfare of their members and staff.”
According to the new order, the city is instructed not to discontinue water or utilities as long as the emergency order is in place.
Nursing homes are prohibited from conducting visitations under the new order, and people over 65 years old and part of the vulnerable population are encouraged to practice “safer at home” guidelines to the “maximum extent possible.”
Mayor Scott said the reason they decided to mandate masks again is largely because of the rising number of cases in the area.
At the time the order was enacted, Mangum had eight active cases and Altus has over 150 active. She said she hopes by doing this order, more people will start wearing them.
“They got pretty lackadaisical about it,” she said. “I wear mine every day but there’s a lot of people who don’t.”