Mask mandate still in effect in Holly Springs

Masks are still required in the City of Holly Springs even though Gov. Tate Reeves lifted the state mandate last week.

“We are going to maintain ours,” Mayor Kelvin Buck said Friday. “ I certainly think it is necessary.” The city’s COVID-19 executive order, requiring masks in all public places, has been in effect since midnight June 26.

Buck said he has been in numerous virtual meetings with Governor Reeves and mayors from across the state since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is clear that municipalities can determine whether they need more stringent guidelines than the state,” Buck said. “The state is the minimum.

“We are maintaining our mask mandate in the city until further notice.” A regular meeting of the mayor and board of aldermen was scheduled for Tuesday of this week. Mayor Buck said the topic of masks is not on the agenda.

From day one of signing the executive order, Mayor Buck has said the decision of whether or not persons should wear masks in certain areas of the city is based on common sense.

“In general, if in public settings, you have to wear a mask,” he said. “If you are out and not in a situation where there will be the potential of transmission, you will be OK without a mask.”

Mayor Buck said he cannot predict when the city’s mask mandate will be lifted “because I can’t predict how long this virus will last.”

The executive order requiring masks is enforced by the Holly Springs Police Department. Any person in the city limits violating the order will be issued a citation by officers.

The Marshall County Board of Supervisors, on July 20, also passed a county mask mandate to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The topic was not a part of the board’s discussion in a board meeting this past Monday.

As of October 4, according to the Mississippi Department of Health, there have been 1,128 COVID-19 cases in Marshall County this year and 22 deaths.

In Governor Reeve’s recent executive order, which will continue until November 11, he kept the mask requirements in schools, plus in businesses that require close contact like salons and barbershops. He also called for schools that remain closed to in-person teaching to open.

Reeves also eased some social distancing restrictions, including increasing attendance at high school football games to 50 percent of stadium capacity. He urged fans attending high school games to wear masks when entering and leaving the stadium.

Plus, group gatherings where people are unable to social distance are limited to no more than 20 indoors and 100 outdoors.