Mask Wearing: Mixed Messaging Hasn't Helped

Since the very beginning of the current COVID-19 Pandemic--opinions have "shifted" among the experts about whether or not uninfected individuals should or should not wear masks.

At a late March Coffee with the Commissioner event with our local Director of the Health Department--I was astonished to hear that mask wearing was NOT recommended by the CDC for the general public.  Watch this video, see the comments yourself from minutes 11:00 to 13:00....

Subsequently, into April and May---when PPE was scarce--some outlets reported that the whole "Don't wear a mask" messaging by the healthcare industry and the media and by the CDC and local Health Departments --------was done simply to keep the average, ordinary citizen from "panic buying" all available N-95 Masks that were readily available at that time at places like Walgreens, Wal Mart, Lowes, Home Depot, and other outlets.  Toilet Paper shortages were bad enough--but if ordinary citizens thought they needed masks and would have bought them up, well that would have been catastrophic, right?!

PPE is still scarce--and it's expensive.

Regardless----more and more localities are mandating the wearing of masks.

Some are simply recommending they be worn.

The World Health Organization muddied the waters even further on the mask question by going back and forth on guidance on citizens wearing masks to prevent COVID-19.

The mixed signals sent by the Healthcare Industrial Complex on this topic have not helped!

Last weekend I was bombarded with requests that we NOT make mask wearing mandatory.

And this topic (mandatory mask wearing) was not and is not even on the agenda for our upcoming regular BCC meeting on July 2nd!! 

Some folks are very happy about this.

Others want it added and enacted--a mask-wearing ordinance.

But wait--there are specific steps that must be taken to enact an ordinance--including multiple public hearings.  Should we follow our own policy on making this an ordinance?  Or we could do it under emergency authority--but wait that has some pitfalls as well.   And inevitably it would be challenged in court.


Machinations + Manipulation + Mixed Messaging =  MESS!