Mayoral proclamation loosens Las Cruces mask rules to parallel new state health order

LAS CRUCES - Mayor Ken Miyagishima issued an emergency proclamation Friday to relax the City of Las Cruces' mask rules to mirror new state orders and federal health guidance, which eliminate masking in most instances for people vaccinated against COVID-19.

The new city rules, effective late Friday afternoon, mean private businesses and organizations inside city limits can choose how they enforce mask use on their property, within state guidance of course. They can impose stricter limits than the state, such as requiring masks regardless of vaccination status, but not looser rules.

An initial version of the proclamation, issued Friday morning, kept the mask mandate inside city facilities for everyone. But Miyagishima, in response to questions from the Sun-News, said that was an error before a new version of the proclamation was issued Friday afternoon.

Fully vaccinated individuals won't need to wear their masks inside city facilities such as City Hall, the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, Branigan Cultural Center, the Rio Grande Theatre or in city parks, splash pads, pools and recreation centers.

But they will still need to wear their masks on city public transit like Dial-a-Ride and buses, at the Las Cruces International Airport, in the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope and when attending outdoor city-sponsored events like the Independence Day celebration.

Last week the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced fully vaccinated individuals no longer needed to wear face masks in most indoor settings, and further loosened previous outdoor mask guidance to allow fully vaccinated people to go maskless outside regardless of crowd size.

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The next day, the New Mexico Department of Health updated its public health order to comport with the new CDC recommendations, giving local governments, businesses and other organizations the choice to allow vaccinated folks not to wear masks on their premises.

The new state health department order has exceptions in keeping with CDC guidance, preserving a mask requirement in place at hospitals, homeless shelters, prisons and on public transportation.

The state also still requires masks in schools for all students and staff regardless of vaccination status.

The new public health order also meant local mask mandates that had been established in the last year, such as Las Cruces' rules, became instantly out-of-date and needed to be manually changed.

Miyagishima's proclamation, which went into effect at 5 p.m. May 21 and remains in place for 72 hours unless perpetuated by a city council vote, aligns the city with the current public health order.

In accordance with the state rules, no Las Crucen needs to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status, while eating, drinking, exercising alone outside or with household members, or attending an outdoor gathering of 20 people or less when everyone else there is fully vaccinated.

An individual is considered fully vaccinated when two weeks have elapsed since their second shot of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, or two weeks after receiving the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The proclamation also reaffirms the city remains under a public health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergency was first declared by the mayor last April using newly created emergency powers.

The Las Cruces City Council is set to vote on extending the proclamation at a special meeting Monday.

An honor system of enforcement

While the CDC says "a growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to have asymptomatic infection or transmit SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus) to others," it will be impossible to accurately enforce the new rules without businesses and workplaces asking for the government-issued card proving COVID-19 vaccination status.

On Wednesday, New Mexico Health Secretary Tracie Collins conceded an honor system will likely be the "most appropriate response" for enforcing the new guidance. State Human Services Secretary David Scrase agreed.

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That keeps fears alive some unvaccinated people could take advantage of an honor system, go maskless, and potentially spread the virus. As of May 21, only 53.4 percent of New Mexicans are considered fully vaccinated, according to NMDOH.

Miyagishima said it's not something he was worried about since vaccines are readily available for the adult population, and now some children.

"Right now, anyone who wants a vaccination can get it if they're over 12 years old," the mayor said. "We have members of the public who could get vaccinated and choose not to. So if they're going to go in there and say they are vaccinated when they're not, they're the ones putting their safety at risk. I'm not. They are."

Read the full text of the Mayoral Proclamation below:

Michael McDevitt is a city and county government reporter for the Sun-News. He can be reached at 575-202-3205, mmcdevitt@lcsun-news.com or @MikeMcDTweets on Twitter.