DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - A mask mandate is still in effect for Decatur businesses, but shoppers and dinners have likely noticed not everyone is following the rules.

As COVID-19 cases surge and hospitals fill up in Decatur, there is a growing call from residents for businesses to require masks.

"So please consider passing a mandate or some safety measure," resident Minnie Walker said at the Decatur City Council meeting Monday night.

"We need a mask mandate," Decatur resident Jeffrey Perkins added.

But there is already a mask mandate in Decatur.

"We did enact local ordinances, which follow the state rules, which are still in effect, the state rules are completely in effect as well," Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe explained.

Yet if you walk into any mom and pop shop, or big box store, you've likely seen that not everyone has a mask on.

"We could send police or code officers out to businesses and start enforcing, making sure that everyone has a mask on. What we've tried to do really though is working with our businesses, our restaurants, especially our small businesses and employers who all want their employees and customers to be safe," the mayor added.

But some council members told WAND News, with COVID-19 hospitalizations at a record high, now is the time to crack down.

"What we're seeing is individuals and businesses not following (our) laws and endangering people in the process," Councilman David Horn explained.

Councilman Horn said its time to enforce the mask ordinance, as the city does with other ordinances like overgrown lawns.

"Not a single person has been hospitalized or died because their grass was too tall. Hundreds of people in Macon County have been hospitalized, 266 have died of COVID-19, and there are too many businesses that are unsafe for people," Horn added.

While the council may be split on how to enforce the rules, they agree masks can save lives.

"Our businesses can't afford to lose their employees, they can't afford to lose their customers. They want to stay open, they want everyone to be healthy, so we need them to be a partner with this," the mayor said. 

Both the mayor and councilman said they are frustrated with the Macon County Board of Health's decision to not release COVID-19 data daily, as those numbers were being used to make decisions for the city.