Group Writes Letter To Broken Arrow Mayor, City Councilors, Urging Mask Mandate

The Broken Arrow City Council will meet Tuesday night, but the mayor said he does not expect a mask mandate for the city anytime soon.

The Healthier Oklahoma Coalition wrote a letter urging the city to pass a mask ordinance.

While a mask ordinance is not being voted on Tuesday night, it is still being discussed, and could be voted on another day.   

In Broken Arrow's Rose District people going inside shops and restaurants may face different mask expectations depending on where they go. Mayor Craig Thurmond doesn't expect that to change anytime soon.  

"I do not see this council passing a mask ordinance at this time,” Mayor Thurmond said in a Facebook video posted to the city’s page.  

In a letter sent to Mayor Thurmond and the City Council by the Healthier Oklahoma Coalition, the Oklahoma State Medical Association along with eight other healthcare associations and societies urged the City of Broken Arrow to put a mask ordinance in place. 

"They really need a face mask requirement. Broken Arrow is a real COVID hotspot in Oklahoma,” Dr. George Monks, president of OSMA said. 

Mayor Thurmond did not wish to respond to the letter but in a Facebook video four days ago, he addressed the idea of a mask mandate, and urged BA residents to take personal responsibility.  

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said last week that according to data he saw from the health department, about 61% of COVID hospitalizations in Tulsa since September have been from cities without a mask order. 

"Last week we were told that we have 10 Broken Arrow citizens in the hospital in the City of Tulsa with COVID-19,” Thurmond said.  

"This is gonna be a very difficult four to six weeks ahead of us," Monks said. "We have to take some measures that flatten this curve, and we need your help."

Dr. Monks praised Sapulpa and Jenks for recently passing mask mandates.  

Several Broken Arrow residents held a rally outside the meeting, in support of a mask mandate for the city. 

You can read the full letter from the Healthier Oklahoma Coalition below.