Wauwatosa Common Council Extends Face Mask Ordinance

WAUWATOSA, WI—The Wauwatosa Common Council officially extended the face mask ordinance on Tuesday with a 12-2 vote. The mask ordinance, which was set to expire on Wednesday, is now in effect until June 16.

Alderman Mike Morgan and Alderman John Dubinski voted against the extension.

Morgan asked if having a healthy lifestyle would help to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and other diseases in the future. Healthy behavior such as healthy diets, exercise and avoiding smoking and alcohol. He said in addition to the mask wearing an social distancing.

Laura Stephens, Wauwatosa interim health officer, said all those things help reduce the burden of disease.

"There is a lot of things we look at during COVID-19, pre-COVID-19 and after. A lot of work we do at the health department is preventative work," Stephens said.

She added there is the community health improvement plan which includes mental health, substance use safety, and injury prevention and nutrition and exercise.

"We have ben very proactive and we deserve credit for that," Morgan said.

He encouraged the city to ramp up health and wellness efforts due to the impact of the mass social distancing and lock downs.

"We really need to look at things more long term in this area and on a broader basis," Morgan said.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in late March that Gov. Tony Evers did not act lawfully in issuing multiple public health emergencies during the pandemic, ending the statewide mask mandate put in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus and the latest executive order declaring a public health emergency.

At issue was whether Evers had exceeded his authority in proclaiming states of emergency related to the pandemic after previous orders had been in place for 60 days and had not been extended by the legislature.

The court said that an emergency can only last 60 days. For an emergency to go past 60 days, it must be extended by joint resolution of the legislature, the court said.

Some municipalities, like Milwaukee and Dane County, have implemented their own mask policies.