The Reopen Wrangell Taskforce last May printed out "Pawse" posters for shops to hang in their windows. The posters lay out guidelines the public should follow when out shopping: Wear a face mask, socially distance, and make use of hand washing or sanitizer stations. Pictured here is Chris Buness dropping off a poster at the Wrangell Sentinel.
During a special borough assembly meeting last Thursday, community members shared their thoughts on a potential mask mandate the city was considering. The mandate would require all individuals, with some exceptions, to wear a mask or face covering in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This mandate, and Wrangell's response to it in general, has been a controversial topic in the community. Over 20 people called into the meeting, and the city also received several letters.
The majority of the people who called into last week's assembly meeting were in favor of a mask mandate. Common talking points amongst them were that masks were a minor inconvenience, that they could help slow the spread of COVID-19, and that the mandate would help protect the community and its economy.
"It's a proven scientific fact that wearing masks, hand washing, and social distancing reduces the risk of COVID virus transmission," Jim Leslie said. "Why would we not use every tool in our arsenal to protect one another?"
"Other parts of Alaska, and most states in the lower 48, are seeing huge spikes in COVID cases, with the scientific community predicting worse to come if we do not adhere to two simple things: Mask wearing and social distancing," said Haig Demerjian, reading a letter written by himself and Bonnie Demerjian. "Wearing a mask and social distancing protects us all. Why would we not want to do that?"
"I feel it's important to do everything we can to protect our fellow citizens, our healthcare workers, our grocery workers, our schools, our businesses, our economy," Nola Walker said. "It seems a small price to pay to avert the potential suffering of our neighbors."
While most of the public who spoke during the meeting favored the mandate, there were several people who opposed it. Some common themes in their comments were that people who do not want to wear masks will still refuse even if there is a mandate, that there is no need for a mandate since Wrangell has only had one case in several weeks, and that enacting a mandate would only increase divisions within the community.
"If you're considering mandating masks when the risk level is low, when do you pull it off?" Penny Allen said. "When it's zero? When we have a vaccine? ... I feel like a broken record saying that this is something that's here to stay and will always be around, and you'll never get rid of it."
"I have been down in Seattle several times," Don McConachie said. "The Seattle area is a very, very depressing place to be. Everybody is looking at each other as if they are Attila the Hun or Charles Manson, or whatever the case may be, and it's very bothersome. I just do not agree with a mandatory mask mandate."
"I concur 100 percent with Penny Allen, which is basically 'not yet,'" Mike Lockabey said. "I've seen a lot of bad come to this town from COVID-19 in the last six months. Not with health issues, because all of our people survived, which was fortunate, and very few people got very sick ... I live without fear, although many people in the past six months have tried to scare me."
As this was only a discussion meeting, no formal action was taken regarding the mask mandate. The assembly decided that it was worth further discussion, and decided to bring it up again in a future meeting.
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