Schmitt says KC, Jackson County kids can ignore mask mandate

By JIM SALTER
Associated Press

Residents of Kansas City, Missouri, and its surrounding county can be excused if they’re confused about whether to adhere to local mask mandates after Missouri’s attorney general offered “legal direction” indicating that many and perhaps most people can ignore them, especially students. Missouri’s largest city and Jackson County both began requiring masks in indoor public settings last month as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations spiraled due to low vaccination rates and the presence of the delta variant. Attorney General Eric Schmitt wrote Thursday to Mayor Quinton Lucas and Jackson County Executive Frank White, citing exceptions to both mandates. They responded by saying Schmitt’s letter “makes no rational sense.”