Omaha Mask Mandate Nixed, Lincoln’s OK

Lincoln, NE (July 31, 2020) Douglas County’s health director said today that she won’t issue an order requiring people in Omaha to wear masks to fight coronavirus, despite a unanimous vote by the county’s health board to do so.

The rejection of the health board’s mandate came after Gov. Pete Ricketts and the attorney general’s office contacted the Health Director saying that such a requirement would violate state law.

Attorney General Doug Peterson also said today, however, that state law contains a clause exempting the Lincoln Lancaster County Health Department from getting state approval, saying that Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird’s mask mandate was in accordance with the law.

Governor Pete Ricketts criticized Lincoln’s mask mandate when it was first issued, saying he would “review legal options.”

Mandatory Mask Wearing Starts Today In Public Places