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Douglas County commissioners on Wednesday said now is not the time to remove a countywide mask mandate, and on Friday they said it would be difficult to pinpoint when the time will be right.

All three county commissioners told the Journal-World that they couldn’t point to any specific level of cases or other such statistics that they would need to see in order to drop the mask mandate. Instead, commissioners said they’ll continue to listen to the advice of the county’s public health professionals.

Those comments come after a Wednesday County Commission meeting where the county’s public health officer did recommend the county drop the current indoor mask mandate and replace it with a less restrictive version that would have required masks for gatherings of 500 or more.

But at least two commissioners on Friday noted that the county’s deputy health officer, Dr. Jennifer Schrimsher, also made comments indicating that it would be reasonable to keep the mask mandate in place until early next month.

Both Commissioners Shannon Portillo and Shannon Reid said they found those comments important.

“I found it really compelling that (Schrimsher) said that the current forecasting shows that we only have about two to three more weeks of these high numbers and will hopefully see a more significant drop-off,” Portillo told the Journal-World Friday. “I want to be sure we’re not taking away mitigation measures too quickly.”

The county’s chief health officer, Dr. Thomas Marcellino, however, told commissioners he thought the community was in a place to “let go” of the communitywide mask mandate based on a relative decrease in the county’s numbers over time since the mandate originally took effect in January, though it was still a tough call to make.

Portillo said it’s important to consider what the county’s COVID-19 data indicates when looking at a recommendation from public health officials. However, she said there isn’t any particular data point she plans to take into account when deciding at what point in the coming weeks she feels comfortable enough to opt for more relaxed guidance.

Portillo on Wednesday, though, did cite that the county’s transmission level was still in “code red” — the highest of three levels — when explaining her decision to keep the mask mandate in place. The code red level designates that active case numbers in the county are above 1,000, or the daily moving average of new cases is above 50. On Friday, Portillo couldn’t point to how far those numbers would have to fall before she was comfortable removing the mask mandate.

Portillo said it’s important to consider what the county’s COVID-19 data indicates when looking at a recommendation from public health officials. However, she said there isn’t any particular data point she plans to take into account when deciding at what point in the coming weeks she feels comfortable enough to opt for more relaxed guidance.

Nor does Commissioner Patrick Kelly, who said he doesn’t plan to use data tools like the health department’s community transmission status indicator to determine his own comfort level with when to relax the county’s current protocols. Instead, Portillo and Kelly told the Journal-World they plan to continue listening to experts like Marcellino and Schrimsher when considering future recommendations.

Kelly said he had “a lot of reservations” about not taking the new recommendation earlier this week. He said his vote to keep the mandate in place was partially influenced by a desire to ensure that the commission acted unanimously on an important public health matter. Kelly said a perception that the two public health officers were somewhat conflicted with the recommendation also played a role.

“I have a lot of concerns about not taking our public health officers’ recommendations, but it makes it a challenge when they share some of their discomforts with the recommendation they’re making,” Kelly said.

Portillo and Kelly both mentioned to the Journal-World they were additionally grateful for community feedback as part of the process, despite the individual reservations commissioners grappled with. Kelly said he recognizes the community is “hurting” and appreciates hearing from those who have voiced that they’re tired of following public health orders.

“I hear those people who made those comments (Wednesday) night,” Kelly said. “And while I don’t share their perspective that wearing a mask is an invasion of someone’s freedom, I understand that they feel that way, and they continue to come and continue to talk to us. But my responsibility … is really about protecting the overall health, welfare and safety of our community. Whether it’s burn bans, whether it’s traffic laws, I take that as a very serious responsibility, and it’s a heavy responsibility.”

Reid — who responded to the Journal-World Friday via email — echoed Portillo’s thoughts on pursuing a more cautious approach after hearing from Schrimsher. Reid also acknowledged the commission heard “similar but still different opinions” from county health officers about what the best option would be, and thus had a discussion to find a consensus.

Reid said in her email she doesn’t feel there’s any one way she would personally quantify what will ultimately classify the extended health order as successful and OK to move on from. Rather, she said the commissioners’ challenge is to take measured steps with the tools at their disposal to help mitigate communitywide risk when they see it.

“We also discussed how circumstances can and will change, so we are available weekly to further consider thoughtful and well-developed recommendations that help us collectively step down our mitigation measures and the need for continued health orders,” Reid said in her email.