St. Louis, Mo. – Earlier this morning, counsel for County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis County announced at a court hearing that the defendants are “rescinding” their illegal mask mandate in St. Louis County later today.
“My Office has been on the forefront of fighting mask mandates across the state, and we have vigorously litigated against St. Louis County’s illegal mask mandates. Attorneys for St. Louis County announced in a court hearing earlier today that the County is ‘rescinding’ their illegal mask mandate later today,” said Attorney General Schmitt. “This is a huge win for the citizens of St. Louis County and the people of Missouri. Although we have consistently held that St. Louis County’s mask mandates were illegally imposed in the first place, this is the right move and is consistent with the recent judgment from the Cole County Circuit Court. We expect more local public health authorities and school districts to follow suit in the coming days and weeks.”
In July, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a suit to stop St. Louis County from re-imposing their mask mandate. Recognizing that the Attorney General’s position was likely to succeed, the Court granted a preliminary injunction halting that mask mandate.
St. Louis County again reissued their mask mandate in September, despite that mandate being an illegal order under the new state law limiting the power of local health authorities. The Attorney General’s Office added that mask mandate to its suit. In that litigation, St. Louis County announced that they are rescinding their mask mandate.
Further, in the wake of the Cole County Circuit Court’s decision declaring COVID-19 public health orders null and void, the Attorney General’s Office sent a letter to local public health authorities and school districts informing them of the decision and urging them to rescind their public health orders immediately. Yesterday, Attorney General Schmitt asked parents for assistance in identifying school districts that continue to impose mask mandates, quarantine orders, or other similar COVID-19 measures despite the recent Cole County judgment. Since then, the Attorney General’s Office has received over a thousand emails from concerned parents and students, and the Attorney General’s Office will continue to launch investigations into school districts following that information from parents.
