Teton County eschews voting on making masks mandatory

Commissioners are split 3-2 on whether mandatory mask wearing is a good idea — and enforceable.

By Billy Arnold
Billy Arnold
Environmental Reporter

Author email
Jul 8, 2020
Jul 8, 2020 Updated Jul 10, 2020
3

Masks in Grand Teton National Park — People with and without masks leave the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center on Tuesday in Grand Teton National Park, where park officials are limiting the amount of people in the building in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
RYAN DORGAN / NEWS&GUIDE

People with and without masks leave the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center on Tuesday in Grand Teton National Park, where park officials are limiting the amount of people in the building in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
RYAN DORGAN / NEWS&GUIDE

Commissioners have sidestepped a request from their county health officer to back a countywide mask order that the doctor said could help slow the spread of COVID-19 as visitors flock to Jackson Hole.

Teton County District Health Officer Dr. Travis Riddell had asked both the town and county to pass resolutions showing support for his order before he sent it to the state for approval.

This page requires Javascript.

Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

Contact Billy Arnold at 732-7063 or barnold@jhnewsandguide.com.

Billy Arnold

Environmental Reporter

Billy Arnold has been covering the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the people who manage it since January 2022. He previously spent two years covering Teton County government, and a year editing Scene. Tips welcomed.

(3) comments

Judith Wampler Jul 9, 2020 6:36pm

Since most places were requiring masks when we visited last week, I decided that I was not going to support Jackson although I drove many hours to get there. I would rather support a town that allows basic human rights like the ability to breathe! Jackson used to be one of my favorite places, but I was disgusted!

Judd Grossman Jul 9, 2020 8:39am

Wearing a mask when you’re indoors, or when you’re outdoors and can’t social distance seems like a good idea. I understand the arguments for making it mandatory, but I prefer we err on the side of freedom. Voluntary is better.

Devra Davis Jul 9, 2020 1:18pm

With so many foreign visitors and those from states lacking in public education about the issue, we place the health of small businesses at risk if wearing of masks is completely voluntary. Testing at the hospital has exceeded capacity now because tourists arrive and immediately seek testing. With false negative rates as high as 30%, they leave with a false sense of security and are ready to party hardy, according to somTee of those staffing the test facilities locally. The lack of federal coordination of the supply chain of testing and other medical supplies and clear policies on masking is wreaking havoc in Texas and Arizona. We should not be diluded by our relatively low numbers at this time. That could all change within days.