WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The mayor of Kansas' largest city wants it to mandate the wearing of masks in line with a statewide executive order from Gov. Laura Kelly, after its home county rejected a mask mandate to check the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple called a meeting of the City Council for Friday afternoon to consider a mask ordinance, The Wichita Eagle reported.

The Sedgwick County Commission voted 3-2 on Thursday to strongly recommend but not require that local residents follow an executive order Kelly issued Thursday. Kelly's order requires people to wear masks in public and at their workplaces.

“The idea that we ‘strongly suggest’ people take this advice has failed,” Whipple said. “There’s no evidence that shows that strategy has worked, and now we are in a much worse position.”

Kansas has reported an increase of more than 60% in confirmed coronavirus cases since Kelly lifted statewide restrictions on businesses and public gatherings on May 26. The Democratic governor's decision left the decision on the rules to the state's 105 counties and came after weeks of complaints from the Republican-controlled Legislature that she was moving too slowly to reopen the state's economy.

Kelly's order comes with no criminal penalties for people who don't wear masks, but violators face a potential civil fine of up to $2,500 if local prosecutors decide to go to court. She and other state officials don't expect the order to be vigorously enforced but hope it will encourage people to wear masks.

Whipple was a Democratic Kansas House member before being elected mayor last year. Among the biggest critics of Kelly's mask order are two conservative Republican legislative leaders from Wichita, Senate President Susan Wagle and House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins.

During a special meeting Thursday afternoon, several Sedgwick County commissioners questioned whether a mask mandate could be enforced and suggested that educating residents about the importance of wearing masks would be the better tactic.

“No one wants to be the mask police,” said Commissioner David Dennis, a Republican.

Johnson County and Wyandotte counties in the Kansas City area are mandating mask wearing, as is Douglas County in northeast Kansas, home to the main University of Kansas campus.

Counties can opt out of Kelly's mask order under a new pandemic law that took effect in June and resulted from a compromise between Kelly and lawmakers. But the state constitution gives cities broad power to set their own policies, independent of counties or the state.

Nearly 76% of Sedgwick County's 516,000 residents, some 399,000 people, live in Wichita. Confirmed coronavirus cases have more than doubled in the county since May 26 from 537 to more than 1,300.

The governor’s order says Kansas residents must wear masks in indoor public spaces, while seeking health care or using public transportation. It also says people must wear them outdoors in public when they can’t remain at least 6 feet (1.8 meters) from others.

Businesses must require employees to wear masks in places frequented by the public or if they prepare food.

The requirement would not apply to children under 6, the deaf, or people with medical conditions that make breathing through a mask difficult or who can’t remove a mask without assistance.