CURRY COUNTY, Ore — Curry County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution earlier this month, stating that it would not enforce any state covid-19 related mandates.
The commissioners unanimously passed the resolution during a weekly public meeting on August 4th. The order applies to any future closures of schools or businesses due to covid.
In the letter to Governor Kate Brown’s office, they cited the protection of constitutional rights and the negative effect on business within the past year as reasons behind the defiance. Commissioner Court Boice said that pandemic-related issues should be dealt with locally and not on the state level.
“We believe that decisions on public health are best made at the local level by the board of health,” Boice said in the meeting. “As County Commissioners, we are best positioned to determine what is needed for the community, to protect against the covid virus.”
The state-wide mask mandate went into effect about a week after the resolution was passed.
Neither of the commissioners immediately returned our request for comment.
A link to the meeting can be found here: Curry Civic TV
Their next board meeting will be Wednesday, August 18th.
© 2023 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.