Wichita mayor frustrated with county decision to let everything open during pandemic

The mayor of Kansas’ largest city said he’s frustrated with a decision to lift coronavirus restrictions and wishes cities had more power to drive public health policy during the pandemic.

“We actually have no authority to pass stay-in orders or to pass the types of restrictions that let’s say the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, can do,” Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said Thursday.

Instead, county governments across the state have assumed responsibility for coronavirus response after Gov. Laura Kelly’s phased-reopening emergency order expired Wednesday.

That means a large city like Wichita takes a back seat to the Sedgwick County Commission, which on Wednesday rejected advice from its county health officer and lifted all coronavirus restrictions on individuals and businesses, including limits on mass gatherings.

Read more: https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article243060281.html