Mask mandates in Missouri highlight political divisions, as hospitals fill with COVID patients

With the rise of the Delta variant across the state of Missouri, Kansas City reinstated its COVID-19 mask mandate earlier this week. 

"The entire state of Missouri, every one of our 114 counties is a hotspot zone for COVID-19. So we saw it was important for us to act, given that updated guidance, from not just the CDC, but our health department, and that's why we have a mask mandate today," said Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.  Fully vaccinated rates are just below 40% in Kansas City and with cases on the rise, Lucas and the city were prompted to issue the mask mandate, which requires masks to be worn in all indoor spaces where six feet can not be maintained.