(KAIR)--Brown County residents this week voiced opposition to the County’s current requirement that face masks be worn in public, due to COVID-19.

That happened during Monday’s meeting of the Brown County Commission, with two voices heard, via Zoom, speaking against the requirement.
According to the unofficial minutes of the meeting, Jessica Gigstad and Christie Woods, separately appeared before the Commission using the online platform, with both speaking out against the mask mandate and the mass gathering limit of 50.

Gigstad asked the Commission to rescind the mandate that first went into effect November 16.
The Commission extended the mandate earlier this month, with Commissioner Keith Olsen casting the lone no vote. At that time, he said his vote of opposition was due to his belief that the wearing of masks should be an individual choice, a sentiment echoed by Gigstad when she spoke Monday.
The mask mandate will be discussed at the December 28th Commission meeting, and public comment will be allowed. Representatives of both sides of the issue will be allowed to voice their stance, with each side to be given ten minutes.

According to the Brown County Health Department’s latest virus-related statistics, released Tuesday, 37 active cases remain, while 5 are hospitalized.
The statistics also state that Brown County has had 18 virus-related deaths, a lower number than that shown in the latest figures released by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The state health agency reports that Brown County has incurred 27 virus-related deaths.

Kristina Romine, Chief Operations Officer for the NEK Multi-County Health Department, told MSC News, in an emailed response to questions regarding the discrepancy, that NEK does not add cases to its numbers until they receive confirmation of a positive lab result.
She explained that KDHE often receives the results first, leading to the discrepancy in numbers.

She specified that deaths are not reported by NEK until the agency receives “confirmation from the doctor, or a death certificate stating COVID as the cause of death.”