St. Louis County's mask mandate temporarily blocked by judge

A local judge granted a temporary restraining order Tuesday that will halt St. Louis County's mask mandate for at least the next two weeks. 

The St. Louis County Department of Public Health issued a face covering order on July 26 amid rising COVID-19 cases, but the St. Louis County Council voted to terminate that order the next day. 

Circuit Judge Ellen "Nellie" Ribaudo ruled Tuesday that "there is a likelihood of success on the merits" that the St. Louis County Counsel does have the authority to terminate the mask mandate. 

"If this court were not to act in this moment the residents who support the face covering measure and those who oppose the measure are left to their own devices in deciding whether or not to wear a mask while in public places," Ribaudo wrote Tuesday. 

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The temporary restraining order will be in effect until an Aug. 17 hearing to settle the case. 

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt touted the ruling as a victory. 

"Today, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office delivered a huge win for the people of St. Louis County and obtained a temporary restraining order, halting the enforcement of the mask mandate," Schmitt said. 

"This is an important, hard-fought victory, but our fight against unreasonable and unconstitutional government overreach continues," he added.

County Executive Sam Page, who called masks "an easy way to make a big difference," said that the order is needed as the county is seeing about 274 new COVID-19 cases a day. 

"We are disappointed in the judge’s decision as more and more mask requirements are put in place across the country to help slow this deadly virus," Page tweeted after the ruling. "The CDC recommends wearing masks in public places and we ask everyone to follow that guidance as we continue our vaccine efforts."

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Schmitt also filed a separate lawsuit on Tuesday to halt a mask mandate that just went into effect in Kansas City this week, calling it "unreasonable, unconstitutional, and arbitrary and capricious."

"Requiring schoolchildren to mask all day while in school is not based in science and is completely ridiculous," he said. "I will always stand up for the liberties of the people of Kansas City and Missouri."

Missouri's 7-day rolling average for new cases stood at 2,037 Tuesday, which is a three-fold increase over the 653 new cases a day it was experiencing a month ago, according to FOX2. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.