7 Tulsa councilors vote to require masks in public

Despite protests, the Tulsa City Council by a 7-2 vote approved Mayor G.T. Bynum’s idea of forcing Tulsans to wear masks in public as protection against the coronavirus.

Only Councilors Cass Fahler and Connie Dodson voted against the new ordinance, which was patterned after a similar new law in Stillwater.

Councilors preferred the new ordinance over a previous draft by the Tulsa Health Department and the City Legal Department.

The new law, signed by Bynum July 16, mandates that anyone over 18 wear a mask in the city limits in public places, including grocery stores and retail stores. 

The ordinance does not have a specific penalty for someone who refuses to wear a mask but they could be subject to criminal trespass laws, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and other city violations as interpreted by the police.

There are exceptions to the law:

• Those who fall into the Centers for Disease Control’s guidance for those who should not wear face coverings due to a medical or mental health condition or developmental disability.
• Those who are eating or drinking.
• Those who are exercising in communal outdoor spaces, or persons walking or exercising with other persons from the same household in communal outdoor spaces, as long as physical distancing is maintained – persons congregating in communal outdoor spaces with other persons not in their same household are required to wear face coverings when physical distancing is not maintained.
• Those in settings where it is not practical or feasible to wear a face covering, such as dental services, medical treatments or while swimming.
• Occupants in a personal vehicle, personal office, or similarly private space while other persons outside of the person’s household are not present.
• Those in offices and workplaces that are not public service areas where physical distancing between employees and other occupants can be consistently maintained during hours of operation.

The ordinance expires on November 30, 2020, or at the expiration of all Civil Emergency Orders related to COVID-19 issued by the mayor, or repeal, modification or extension by the City Council through a subsequent ordinance, whichever is sooner. 

“We are extremely proud of the challenging decision our city leaders made today toward lessening the spread of COVID-19 in the City of Tulsa. Without these efforts, we will not see a sustained decrease in disease transmission,” Tulsa Health Department Executive Director Dr. Bruce Dart said. “The science is clear that the use of cloth face coverings are most likely to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when they are widely used by people in public settings. Wearing a mask not only considers others, but also allows us the freedom to go about our day during this new normal.”

But the science is not established that masks prevent the disease. That is particularly true if the mask is worn improperly. Top scientists are advocating masks after previously stating they made no difference.

Also, there is a question as to whether Tulsa’s new ordinance is constitutional. Critics say the city can’t force people to don masks.

“This pandemic continues to present us with difficult decisions that no elected official would ever want to make, but we will continue to do what we have to do to protect our local health care system,” Bynum said.

As of July 20, the Tulsa Health Department (THD) has confirmed 6,316 positive COVID-19 cases in Tulsa County. 5.021 residents have recovered and 85 have died.

The City of Tulsa has 4,384 confirmed cases with 3,462 recoveries and 63 deaths.