Kanab Council Member Falsely Claims Masks May Be Causing COVID-19 Spike

Kanab Council Member Falsely Claims Masks May Be Causing COVID-19 Spike

– By Josh Warburton, Publisher –

• Recent Facebook post and comments by Kanab City Councilwoman Celeste Meyeres irresponsibly claim recent spike in COVID-19 cases may be caused by mask-wearing 
• The CDC, Utah State and Southwest Public Health officials are strongly recommending people wear masks in public and anywhere social distancing is not possible

In a post dated Sunday, November 22 Kanab city councilwoman Celeste Meyeres claimed there was an “unmistakable correlation” between mask-wearing and the dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases in Kane County in the last two weeks. While admitting that “correlation doesn’t not equal causation” she floated the idea that “the measures taken in the past two weeks didn’t help. And they might have hurt.” There is little to no scientific evidence to back up this claim.

Utah Governor Herbert ordered a mask mandate and restrictions on gatherings on November 9 which requires businesses to have all staff wear masks. Mask wearing has been scientifically proven to reduce transmission of the novel coronavirus.

The order came as cases in Utah continued to spike to a level where hospitals throughout the state were reporting packed ICU’s and warning of potential care rationing.

Meyeres repeated a debunked theory floating around the internet claiming “it could be that those who believe that the virus is either concentrated, collected, or nurtured by masks are correct.” Or that it simply could be a coincidence. There is no peer/reviewed evidence of this theory. 

The surge in cases was widely predicted by scientists studying the virus and how it spreads because as temperatures drop people spend less time outside and more time in confined spaces where it’s shown the virus spreads much more easily.

While Kane County cases had remained fairly low per capita through most of the pandemic cases started increasing in September and continued through October. 

The spike in cases in November coincided with large increases happening in Southwest Utah and Utah as a whole, a trend that had started months earlier. 

Councilwoman Celeste Meyeres claims that the surge in cases in Kane County may have been a result of the governor’s mask mandate does not accurately reflect the process of the virus from exposure to a positive test result. 

According to the CDC symptoms may occur in as few as 2 days and as many as 14 days, hence the 14 day quarantine period being asked of those with known exposure. From the onset of symptoms, there can be a delay until a test can be performed, in Kane County that’s generally zero to two days, depending on demand. Those results have been taking two to five days in Kane county. Then there is the lag time of reporting of another day, sometimes more. So a person exposed today would average 5 to 11 days before experiencing symptoms (according to a recent report). If a test was requested and able to be performed within a day or two of the onset of symptoms, and results back a few days after that, and then the result posted the day after that the average exposure to test posting would be 9 to 17 days. So an exposure happening a week into the mandate (November 16) would most likely show up in the numbers starting on November 25 to December 3rd. So Meyeres’ claim that the spike is even correlated with the order and mask mandate is inaccurate.

Meyeres went on to claim without evidence that “No matter which way you slice it, it’s difficult to proclaim that these partial shutdowns, masking orders, etc. have had a positive effect in the past two weeks, which was the carrot that was dangled for that time period.”

The reality is at best the effects of the mask mandate would just be starting in the last few days, and that is if the public was adhering to them. No hard data exists showing if Kanab area residents have increased mask usage. That said, with some people possibly wearing masks for the first time there is a greater chance of people misusing masks, i.e. adjusting them frequently, pulling them on and off frequently, not washing hands after touching them, etc. This behavior may cause some additional exposure but it is thought to be greatly negated by the benefits of mask-wearing in public.

In summary, Councilwoman Meyers is promoting a very dangerous idea, not based in science, and with the end result being more cases of Covid-19 in Kane County, and ultimately more deaths from it, that could have been avoided. Science has already disproven such theories as junk, but more than that it’s just irresponsible for a community leader to promote such ideas. Kanab citizens should take notice that the most vocal of our local representatives are dealing in conspiracy theories and should seriously consider whether she is fit to serve.

While I am a huge proponent of the first amendment right to free speech, like every other right it has practical limits. It’s where your right impinges on my rights. You can’t yell “fire” in a crowded theater for the same reason you should not post this type of misinformation. Just because you have the right to say something doesn’t mean you should. Words have consequences.

Here is Mrs. Meyeres’ Original Post:

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