Now that the long-predicted autumn wave of the coronavirus pandemic has arrived, I can’t help but think back to this past summer, when our local elected officials followed the governor’s wrongheaded lead, put politics over public health and refused to require that masks be worn in indoor public places.
I remember them telling us there was no need for such drastic measures – that our community is special, that we care enough about our neighbors to protect them from harm, that we don’t need to be forced to do what’s right.
Some of those elected officials, such as Vero Beach City Councilman Joe Graves, voted against a mask mandate because they weren’t satisfied with the scientific evidence available at the time.
“This issue became so politicized,” Graves said, “it was difficult to discern truth from biased political narrative.”
Four months later, the issue still is being politicized, with more than a few county residents continuing to embrace the absurd belief that a mask mandate imposed to protect the public’s health – and the local economy – violates their individual liberties.
Graves, though, has found his way through the political nonsense and seen the light – or to be more precise, the proof he needed to change his mind.
“Since July, the science has become much clearer and, in my opinion, there isn’t any reasonable debate on whether masks work and whether we should be wearing them,” Graves said last weekend.
“Therefore,” he later added, “I am in favor of some type of mandate in indoor public places, where social distancing is not possible, to keep our local businesses and economy operating while protecting our citizens’ health.”
Graves was among several local elected officials I interviewed last week, asking about the possibility of resurrecting the mask-mandate issue, now that the second wave of COVID is upon us and there’s no longer any doubt face coverings help combat the pandemic.
Though any such mandate would lack teeth – Gov. Ron DeSantis issued in September an executive order preventing local governments from enforcing mask mandates – it might persuade some anti-maskers to reconsider.
Last week, in fact, a coalition of Florida mayors asked DeSantis to allow cities and counties to restore and enforce COVID-mitigation measures, including mask mandates and business-occupancy limits, which they say are needed to slow the latest surge in infections.
“There are some people,” Vero Beach Vice Mayor Rey Neville said, “whose minds will never be changed.”
Those people – who rail against masks despite common sense and overwhelming evidence – are the reason an enforceable mandate is necessary.
While our local officials might want to believe the Chamber-of-Commerce pitch about our small-town, take-care-of-each-other atmosphere, the hard truth is that our community is not immune to the gaping political and ideological differences that divide the rest of America.
Perhaps you saw what happened at the County Commission and City Council meetings last summer, when those local governmental bodies entertained public comment on a proposed mask mandate?
“Before that City Council hearing, we received 700-plus emails,” said Laura Moss, a former City Council member who was elected to the County Commission. “I’d say the sentiment was split; close to 50-50, maybe slightly in favor of masks.
“So, no matter what you do, half the people will be unhappy.”
Yeah, so?
The half that finds wearing masks too inconvenient and considers a life-saving mandate too oppressive? The half that believes COVID is no worse than the common flu and herd immunity is a viable option?
Let them be unhappy.
Sometimes, elected officials need to lead, rather than simply cower every time more than 10 people show up at a public hearing to oppose common sense. We shouldn’t be governed – or bullied – by a vocal minority who show up at meetings to vent.
Our city and county leaders should, instead, follow the example being set by newly elected School Board Chairman Brian Barefoot, who has no intention of caving to the four parents suing the district and demanding it rescind its mask requirement for students.
“They can sue all they want; I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere,” Barefoot said, explaining that students are given breaks during which they can remove their masks.
“We also have to consider our teachers, some of which are older and with pre-existing conditions,” he continued. “It would be unfair – and even irresponsible – to get rid of masks and put them at risk.
“If the kids have medical issues, we can make exceptions,” he added. “Otherwise, if kids don’t want to wear masks, they can go to school virtually. They’ve got a choice. The teachers don’t have a choice.”
Should any of us?
Just as not requiring masks in school would jeopardize the health of students, teachers and staff, not requiring all of us to wear masks in indoor public places jeopardizes the community’s health and, potentially, our economy.
“Nobody wants another shutdown,” County Commissioner Susan Adams said. “I know some people say that those who are afraid should stay home, but that’s not great for our restaurants and retail establishments.
“We need more people out feeling comfortable, shopping in stores and eating at restaurants and spending money,” she added. “The only way that’s going to happen is to have people wearing masks and practicing social distancing.”
While most of us do wear masks when entering indoor public places, many others don’t.
As for mandates, existing local mask requirements affect only people visiting city and county buildings and using public transportation, as well as all business employees who interact with the public.
And some officials think that is good enough, even though scientists and public health officials say overwhelmingly that the simple act of wearing a mask – if everyone complied across the country – would get the pandemic under control and quickly turn the graph line of new infections downward.
“What we have right now is adequate,” new County Commissioner Joe Earman said. “We haven’t seen the death rate increase a lot. Hospitalizations are up a bit, but not like we saw in July. If something changes at Christmastime, we can go back and look at it.
“We’re limited by the governor’s order, anyway,” he added. “We’re doing about as much as we can.”
In July, the County Commission voted 3-2 against requiring that masks be worn in indoor public places. Two of the ‘nay’ votes were cast by Tim Zorc, who lost his re-election bid, and Bob Solari, who chose to not run again.
The City Council, meanwhile, never bothered to vote on a mandate, because a 4-1 super-majority was needed for it to pass and both Graves and now-Mayor Robbie Brackett had voiced their opposition.
The council now has two new members, and Graves has joined Neville, who survived a COVID-19 infection last summer, in supporting a mask mandate.
“Maybe we’ll talk about it this week,” Neville said, referring to this Tuesday’s council meeting. “It wouldn’t be an agenda item, so we couldn’t vote, but we certainly could discuss it.”
Somebody needs to start talking about it, especially if – as most experts project – this spike in infections continues through the winter.
We can’t simply rely on our neighbors to do what’s right. We’ve already seen that too many of them won’t.
