I read with dismay and great disappointment the Monitor article on “Council defers on mandating masks.” I wonder how many members of the council have loved ones who go to work in essential and healthcare services every day while risking their health and potentially their lives to provide services and care for others.
Requiring all people in public indoor places to wear masks will help to reduce that risk as it will reduce the spread of coronavirus. The required wearing of masks in public places during this crisis should not be regarded as making political statements; it should simple be about taking care of citizens and the countless unrecognized heroes.
If “enlightenment and education” or “peer pressure” are sufficient reasons to ensure that people use safe behaviors in our city, then why do we have any city ordinances at all?
If there is one simple lesson that our “leadership” should learn from this worldwide pandemic it is that time lost equals lives lost during this unprecedented national health emergency. If our mayor and our city council are going to ignore the economic cost and the human toll that the continued spread of coronavirus will have our city by hesitating and fearing the reaction and potential public backlash from the vocal minority, then it is truly a sad time in many ways for our city and our citizens.
David Lynde
Concord