Masks up! Or not?

 

Mask up. Or, not! Whatever you want. Iowa Gov Kim Reynolds issued a confusing mandate Monday. People are required "to wear masks in public indoor space if unable to maintain a safe social distance." Faith communities were not mentioned. Many pastors took this to mean they should not have indoor services without safe distances and masks. However, Reynolds’ many exceptions later were said to include religious services.

And people "running a quick errand in a store" wouldn’t need to wear a mask. Nevertheless she "encouraged mask wearing." That is easily interpreted, "Do what you want to do."

My husband, Burton, wrote in a Letter to the Editor in our Globe Gazette, “Perhaps the governor’s failure to require everyone to wear masks did get her votes." Reynolds said the election (in Iowa?) supported her actions. Burton added that perhaps Reynolds "should overrule the law against smoking in public places."

Or maybe we as individuals should decide whether we want to or not go through a red light. After all, it does inconvenience me when I’m in a hurry. Or perhaps, because we have "freedom" in this country, I need not wear a seatbelt. It’s uncomfortable. Freedom does not mean we can do whatever we individually want. Freedom in a democracy means we are free to work together, including being guided by scientific evidence, so that all may be safe, and therefore free to live.

In a news conference Reynolds was later asked about the science which states clearly that wearing masks makes a big difference in containing the virus, to which she responded that there was "science on both sides." Later a spokesperson for the governor tried to correct her statement by saying that the science was clear but there were people on both sides of the issue.

So, what are people required or encouraged to do in Iowa? Where is the leadership? The confusion only adds to the divisions and invites cases of COVID to surge.