The Rapid City Common Council is passing a watered down version of a mask ordinance they passed a week and a half ago.
The new ordinance lets a business or property owner “opt out” to determine if they are a mask mandated place or not.
Supporters say it gives businesses autonomy to determine what’s best.
Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender calls the measure a “compromise” and “more reasonable” than the previous passed mandate.
“What I like about this ordinance is that it helps to create a safer environment for the consumer,” Allender says. “I think it’s in everyone's interest to let the consumer beware. Monument Hospital has today 110 hospitalizations for COVID, which is a new record. Cases may be going down somewhere, but our hospital is full of them right now."
The new ordinance does not have a penalty attached to it.
Rapid City joins several other cities in South Dakota, like Brookings, Sioux Falls, Huron and Mitchell with some degree of a mask requirement.
According to the Centers For Disease Control, cloth face coverings help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The ordinance will remain in effect until February 28 of 2021.
