Letter to the Editor 7-10-20

Dear Editor,
It was sad to read about the Cloud County Commission special meeting on July 3, when the Commission decided not to require face masks in public, which risks both the health of our local citizens and the success of our local businesses. The idea seemed to be that face masks limit “personal freedom.”
Against all medical advice, the Commission decided to override the Governor’s July 2 Executive Order that required Kansans to wear face masks when inside public spaces, or in places where social distancing of 6 feet cannot be maintained. (Children under the age of 5 and people with certain medical conditions were exempted.)
At the beginning of the Commission meeting, Cloud County Health Administrator Brandi Bray and Cloud County Health Officer Dr. Dorothy Breault explained, “Wearing a face mask is one of the most effective ways for preventing the mask-wearer from transmitting the virus to other people…  People can transmit the virus even when they are not having symptoms, which is why it is important for everyone to wear one (not just people who feel sick).”
Many Cloud County residents have health conditions that increase the likelihood of the Coronavirus sending them to the hospital – issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and many problems of senior citizens. Some younger people do not get seriously ill from the virus, but they still can transmit the virus to older relatives (and to persons in stores), who can get very sick or die. This virus has already caused almost 1,300 hospitalizations and 300 deaths in Kansas. It started in large cities, and it is now spreading to small rural communities.
When a person does not wear a mask and later tests positive for the virus, this forces everyone who was exposed to spend 14 days in quarantine. Currently, about 200 people in Cloud County are spending 14 days in quarantine, because a few individuals went around without a mask before developing Coronavirus symptoms. Why shouldn’t these 200 local people have the “personal freedom” of not being in quarantine?
When some individuals do not wear face masks in public, this scares other people away from shopping at local businesses, which have already suffered from closures and layoffs. At the present time, many senior citizens and others with health problems shop in stores as little as possible, to avoid catching the virus because of the special dangers to them. Less shopping means less income for local businesses that are already on a financial cliff. Why shouldn’t local businesspeople (and their employees) have the “personal freedom” to earn a living and to avoid another lockdown that could drive them into bankruptcy?
Allowing people to skip wearing face masks has nothing to do with “personal freedom,” because anyone’s freedom ends when others are put in danger. Isn’t this why people are not allowed to drive while drunk, or to drive through stoplights, or to drive down main street at high speed? Legal requirements are not about limiting “personal freedom” – they are about protecting other people in the community.
There is a problem outside our homes when officials stop requiring face masks, but only “highly recommend” them. When local communities stop requiring masks, the national political misinformation leads most people to mistakenly conclude that masks must not be really needed – and then since masks are a nuisance, most people stop wearing them. Consider what happened recently at Walmart: On the morning of July 3, when the Governor required masks, everyone in Walmart wore a mask. On the morning of July 4, after the Commission only “highly recommended” masks, less than half the people in Walmart wore a mask.
Face masks are NOT signs that identify people as Democrats or Republicans. Instead, face masks are simple common-sense efforts to protect both the health of our community and the success of our businesses. Requiring people to wear face masks in public during a pandemic is just like requiring people to wear seat belts in cars.
To avoid spreading the Coronavirus and to maintain business employment, medical professionals repeatedly explain three rules: (1) Wear a face mask when outside your home. (2) Maintain 6-foot social distancing when outside your home (you can still talk to other people). (3) Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water throughout the day – after touching things that might be contaminated, and especially before touching your face.
Pat Prindaville