NEBRASKA- The State of Nebraska on Tuesday rejected a request from Douglas County’s health director who was seeking authority to implement a countywide mask mandate.

Douglas County Public Health Director Lindsay Huse asked the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services for approval to issue a directed health measure requiring people to wear face masks indoors in the county. The temporary mask mandate would have applied to school districts across Douglas County as well as other indoor settings.

Huse, in explaining her decision to send the letter Tuesday morning, cited the rising number of COVID cases in the county, including among children.

“Our kids deserve protection,” Huse said. “And they deserve an education. Our families deserve protection.”

Gary Anthone, the state’s director of public health and chief medical officer, denied the request.

Anthone wrote that the state was obligated to “balance the benefit of the public with that of individual liberty and consider the applicable state statutes.”

He noted that previous mask mandates were limited to specific circumstances when social distancing was not possible.

“Under the current circumstances, imposing restrictions on every individual at a district level is not appropriate,” Anthone wrote. “The Department has not imposed or approved restrictions on individuals unless the specific individual posed an identifiable risk to others.”

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