The City of Lawton and Comanche County are reviewing some of their COVID-19 policies after Gov. Kevin Stitt announced he was ending his COVID-19 Executive Order.
Although Stitt had dropped some state requirements in March and has consistently declined to implement a state-wide mask mandate, the City of Lawton, Comanche County, Lawton Public Schools and Cameron University are all among entities that have some variation of protocols in place for their facilities to protect staff, students, visitors and others from COVID-19.
Stitt announced that effective Tuesday, he was rescinding the order he initially signed into place in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began ramping up, and has extended multiple times since then. Stitt cited the fact Oklahoma’s seven-day average of new cases is down 94 percent from its peak and is among the lowest per capita rates in the country, while hospitalization rates are down 90 percent and are stable.
Lawton’s City Council decided in late March to drop its mandates for masks and sanitation protocols for indoor commercial facilities and other indoor sites accessible to the public, and began opening city facilities to the public. However, administrative procedures have kept a mask mandate for people using City of Lawton indoor facilities and when city staff interacts with the public. City administrators met Tuesday afternoon to review those policies and are expected to release information this week.
Central District Commissioner Johnny Owens said he will meet with district judges and the district attorney staff this morning to make a decision about the mask policy that is required for those entering the Comanche County Courthouse, including its district court complex. The county now requires visitors to submit to temperature checks and wear masks when entering the courthouse, and staff to wear them when interacting with the public. Owens said he expected county officials to announce their decision later today.
Cameron University and Lawton Public Schools will continue with the mask mandate and other COVID-19 protocols for students and staff that they set into place when the 2020-2021 school year began in August 2020.
“Governor Stitt’s action to rescind the state of emergency declaration will have no immediate effect on Cameron University, including the upcoming Commencement events on Friday and Saturday,” said Keith Mitchell, senior director of public affairs, in a statement.
Mitchell said Cameron administrators will revisit the university’s operational status after the Spring 2021 semester ends this month.
Lynn Cordes, executive director of communications for Lawton Public Schools, confirmed that the district would keep its mask mandates in place through the conclusion of the 2020-2021 school year later this month.
