Alva Review-Courier -

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas county in the Kansas City area is requiring most residents to wear masks in indoor public spaces and on public transportation because of the spread of the more contagious COVID-19 delta variant.

The county commission in Wyandotte County approved the mask mandate Thursday night on an 8-2 vote. It took effect immediately, The Kansas City Star reports.

The commission followed public health officials' recommendation to impose the mandate for county residents above the age of 5.

But the commission exempted the small towns of Bonner Springs and Edwardsville from the mandate. They have about 12,000 of the county's 165,000 residents or 7.4%.

Numbers of new COVID-19 cases have risen steadily in Kansas over the past six weeks because of the more contagious delta variant. Kansas averaged 917 new COVID-19 cases a day for the seven days ending Wednesday, state health department data showed.

The state's data showed that Wyandotte County averaged 13 new COVID-19 cases a day in June but has averaged 31 a day since.

Delta variant cases have been confirmed in 83 of the state's 105 counties, including 12 this week. As of Wednesday, 124 delta variant cases had been confirmed in Wyandotte County, or 7.5 for every 10,000 residents.