NEW MADRID COUNTY, Mo. (WSIL) -- Residents in New Madrid County, Missouri are not required to wear a mask, it's only a recommendation. Local government officials say a neighborly approach is better than a mandate.
Now county health officials warn it may be time to get tough with the public.
Right now, New Madrid County has the highest total positivity rate in Missouri.
It was decreasing, but for the past week the rate is at 41.2%. As far as deaths, the county is ranked the 5th highest in Missouri.
Today's meeting was to get opinions about a mask mandate, COVID-19 statistics in the county and how communities are slowing the spread of the virus.
Mayor Richard Bodi of the City of New Madrid says he believes the mask mandate will help bring down the numbers and the health department says
they just want to make the right decision for the county.
"You can go in a store now and you might see a couple clerks have a mask on and have 10 or 15 people in there with no mask and I think that's contributing to our rise," he said.
"We care, we're on top of it, we're just trying to…do the best we can and we can't do it without their help," said Jayne Dees.
One paramedic, who is also on the New Madrid City Council says he had COVID-19 back in October, and was in the hospital for four days.
He says his experience changed the way he looked at the severity of the pandemic.
"The whole grand scheme of things completely changed my outlook on it and I hope that by me talking to you, it helps people to understand that just because you're healthy with no underlying health conditions, you're just as susceptible to this virus as someone that is 80-years-old with several underlying health conditions," said Nicholas White.
The county health administrator also mentioned this meeting was supposed to be considered a "soft approach" for a solution.
However, if the positivity rate gets worse or even stays the same they could meet again and make a mandate.
