ST. CLOUD — An emergency three-week ordinance requiring people to wear face coverings inside public spaces in St. Cloud failed Monday night during a tense meeting where the presiding council member had to slam his gavel a handful of times to silence some of the few dozen onlookers interrupting the discussion.
The emergency ordinance required approval by five of the seven members of St. Cloud City Council; it failed on a 4-2 vote with Council President Jeff Goerger absent.
"Our medical community is asking for our help, and I think it's incumbent upon us to help them out," said Carol Lewis, who asked that the mandate discussion be put on the agenda. "We need to do better."
Council members Mike Conway and Paul Brandmire voted against the mandate, which came as a request by the area's largest health care system more than two weeks ago.
"COVID had been dangerous to our population. No one denies that CentraCare is working hard. … But the question before us tonight was about the wearing of masks to prevent spread," Brandmire said. "I have yet to see a reliable study which proves that masks have any impact whatsoever."
Conway said a three-week mandate "isn't going to change anything."
"The numbers are already starting to go down," he said.
Mayo Clinic's COVID-19 model is predicting the state's latest wave of coronavirus infections will peak this week and then rapidly decline. But health leaders, including Dr. George Morris of CentraCare, have stressed hospitalizations and deaths can continue to increase for a few weeks after the peak.