Pima County To Vote On Mask Mandate

TUCSON, AZ — The Pima County Board of Supervisors is set to vote on a mask mandate Tuesday morning, according to a memorandum from Acting County Administrator Jan Lesher.

Lesher recommended that the board adopt a resolution requiring people in Pima County to wear face coverings when they can't maintain a continuous distance of six feet from others.

"The scientific data once again supports a recommendation for universal indoor masking as an impactful low-cost, broadly available, evidence-based intervention that can curb infection and prevent mortality associated with COVID-19," Lesher said in the memo.

While Lesher admitted in the memo that there was no practical way to enforce the mandate, she added that the existence of one made it more likely that people would wear masks.

"A County-imposed mask mandate would be a call-to-arms for everyone in this county to step up and do their part to help prevent the spread of a deadly virus, especially during the holidays," Lesher wrote in the memo.

Lesher cited a second winter surge as the reason she's recommending a mask mandate.

Lesher said that the surge, "severely straining our healthcare resources and requiring continued investment of Pima County resources to bolster vaccination, testing and other mitigation measures."

Since July 20, according to the Pima County Health Department, 305 schools in the county reported 8,022 cases of COVID-19. Schools reported 237 outbreaks and 131 classroom closures. During the week of Dec. 13 alone, local schools reported 284 cases.

Intensive care unit availability in Pima County is extremely low, at less than 3 percent, according to the memo. As of Dec. 19, local hospitals reported that COVID-19 positive patients occupied 33 percent of intensive care unit beds in the county.

This article has been corrected to accurately reflect the gender of Acting County Administrator Jan Lesher.