Quit bellyaching and wear a mask. It’s mandatory, and it’s better than the alternative

The blowback against requiring masks in public throughout Stanislaus County was immediate and intense.

And unfortunate, and entirely predictable.

No sooner had County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Kristin Olsen finished delivering the news in an official briefing Wednesday evening — that face coverings will become mandatory in some public settings starting Monday — did people begin whining and condemning and rebelling in acidic comments on the same Facebook page.

“This whole thing is a scam. ... I’m not wearing a mask!”

“Nope...not gonna wear them because you are all liars.”

“Who wants to start a class action lawsuit?”

Such uninformed and selfish commentary might be expected in an area with a culture that has not embraced masks. Experts on literally every level have stridently encouraged face coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19, yet any trip to almost any store in Modesto and surrounding cities reveals a stubborn resistance.

How is mere encouragement working for us?

The five-day positivity rate for COVID testing when Stanislaus began reopening, May 20-24, was 3.2%. Now it’s 8.6%.

Two weeks ago, 25 COVID patients were in Stanislaus hospitals. Now there are 50.

When encouraging people to do the right thing doesn’t work, leaders take it to the next level. In this case, that means mandatory mask-wearing in some public settings.

Stanislaus leaders’ bold move Wednesday was upstaged Thursday by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s much larger announcement of a similar requirement covering all of California. Those who assign blame to a progressive conspiracy would do well to remember that all five elected Stanislaus supervisors are proud Republicans.

Many people rebelling against this common-sense measure don’t seem to grasp the danger we face of reverting to an earlier stage of the economic shutdown, when in-dining restaurants and most stores were closed. That’s where we’re headed, if we don’t get our coronavirus numbers under control, and wearing masks is the foremost way to do that until we have a vaccine.

Pretend you’re a nail salon owner or employee. After all the income you’ve lost in the past three months, you are anxious to get back to work on Stanislaus’ July 1 target date for that personal-service sector. Wearing a mask — and asking your clients to as well — seems such a small thing if it provides more assurance that you won’t be shut down again.

Everyone should stand behind our businesses, small and large, by wearing masks for the relatively short time we’re in them.

Everyone should stand behind our seniors, who are more vulnerable to the coronavirus.

We’ve heard time and again from experts that face coverings are more for the protection of those around the wearer than for the wearer. When you breeze by others in public without a mask, you may think you’re saying, “I’m free. No one tells me what to do.” Many instead perceive you as saying, “I don’t care about you. I can’t be bothered to make a small sacrifice to help another.”

Mask deniers had a chance to prove that expert advice can be ignored with no consequence. That strategy has failed.

It’s time to listen to science and to common sense. It’s time to show deference to seniors, support to businesses and respect to everyone around us.

Wearing a mask won’t kill you. It will save lives.

This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 11:10 AM.