On Tuesday, November 17, Director of the Clay County Public Health Center Gary Zaborac updated the emergency order from August 24. In order to provide consistency in the metro and join regional efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the updates are in line with orders announced earlier this week by the city of Kansas City, Missouri and Jackson and Wyandotte counties.

*Masks are now required outdoors when physical distancing of six feet cannot be maintained from anyone outside your household - Director of the Clay County Public Health Center Gary Zaborac*

Currently Phase 2, Step 2 remains in place including that all employees or visitors to any indoor public accommodation must wear face coverings in an area or while performing an activity which will involve close contact or proximity to co-workers or the public where six feet of separation is not feasible or cannot be maintained.

The main parts of the emergency order the Health Center has updated includes business capacities and hours of operations as well as the mask mandate which appears to be required for any type of activities that occur in a business. Masks are now required outdoors when physical distancing of six feet cannot be maintained from anyone outside your household.

For restaurants, bars, and clubs serving food and drink indoors the Health Department is limiting the number of occupants to no more than 50 percent of building occupancy, and mandates businesses shall close at 10:00 p.m. Indoor and outdoor patrons must be seated, and masked at all times except when actively eating or drinking. Indoor and outdoor parties are limited to ten or fewer persons and parties shall be spaced six feet apart.

For gyms, fitness, and recreational centers, including city, school, and other publicly-owned and managed facilities, the County mandates that these places are also limited to no more than 50 percent capacity and all patrons are required to wear masks indoors at all times and maintain social distancing of not less than six feet.

Other business operations generally open to the public and operating in a publicly accessible capacity shall maintain six feet of distance between areas of service, such as tables, booths, or stations in addition to the wearing a face covering or mask.

Gatherings are permitted with ten or fewer persons in one place, subject to physical distancing requirements. Gatherings of more than ten persons may take place only with the approval of the Health Department after submission, review, and approval.

This order is set to go into effect on Monday, November 23. The full emergency order can be found through the Health Center’s website.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story