"If you are willing and I strongly encourage you to wear a mask in public," Stanley said, listing the mask wearing as the fourth in a list of four steps necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Joplin.
The other three steps were social distancing, thorough hand washing and not touching your face. (And don't let anyone else touch it either.)
Stanley, of course, cast what was essentially the decisive vote last week when Joplin City Council voted 5-4 against a face mask ordinance.
Stanley may get an opportunity to revisit that vote in the near future. City Council will decide whether to move to Step 3 in the recovery phase when it meets 6 p.m. today at City Hall.
The mayor said he did not expect the council to approve the next step and anticipated remaining on Step 2 for the time being. He anticipated a discussion on whether to reconsider the face mask ordinance since the coronavirus has hit Joplin hard over the past couple of weeks, with 211 cases, as well as more than 700 in the remaining portion of Jasper County and in McDonald County and more than 500 in Newton County, with shoppers and people having other business coming to Joplin on an everyday basis.
No vote will be taken on a face mask ordinance tonight, Stanley said, since it will require a special meeting with proper notification.
Joplin Wake UP - Keep up the Great Work City Council. More Deaths - All because you cannot see the Benefits for making it Mandatory to Wear Masks - because you are afraid to offend someone or some group. I hope you do not lose any Family or Friends due to COVID-19!!!
ReplyDeleteCOVID-19 is Real it is not a Liberal or Democratic or Political Issue - - It is a Health Issue. Think about Saving Lives - Wearing a Mask is know different than not smoking in restaurants or wearing a seat belt. Protect yourself, family, elders, kids, friends, etc., do this for everyone's sake.
Because you could be the Next One in the Hospital!!!
Offer sales tax breaks for people wearing masks in stores. It would encourage good behavior, promote safe practices, and help alot of these people get past their fear of wearing them. It could also possibly help get a small city politician recognized for a good idea. Make it happen!
ReplyDeleteOur police department should be embarrassed that the Council is using enforcement issues as the excuse for not approving the ordinance; they could surely come up with strategies to reduce the community's health risk without trying to lock up all the unmasked cowboys and cowgirls
ReplyDeleteSixteen states currently recommend, but do not require, that residents wear masks in public. In those states — including Texas and Arizona — new coronavirus cases have risen by 84% over the last two weeks, according to an Inquirer analysis.
ReplyDeleteIn the 11 states that mandate wearing masks in public — including New York, Illinois, and Michigan — new cases have fallen by 25% over the last two weeks. Other states that are less stringent and require mask-wearing by employees and patrons of certain businesses have seen an overall 12% drop in cases (Pennsylvania, which is in this group, has seen a 28% drop.) Meanwhile, states that require masks only for employees of certain businesses have seen a 70% increase, on average, in new cases.
But we don't want to make the illiterate rednecks mad by telling them to wear a mask. Some fool mentioned that the Globe could put out articles for the brilliant population to read and make sure they followed suggestions. Uh, yeah, right. The same morons are still the same morons not wearing masks, but they will wear gloves then rub their eyes and pick their noses with them.
Didn’t ALL of the Joplin deaths occur in one building where the residents don’t go out, visitors aren’t allowed in, and the employees have been wearing masks since the pandemic started?
ReplyDelete