We have been advocating that people continue to mask up ever since the CDC has recommended that last year. However, we believe it is now time to revisit this mask mandate.
The City of Newton is one of the few places in Mississippi that is still continuing to have a mask mandate in place. While we understand the idea of continuing to keep it in place, it is our opinion that the mandate has become too divisive in our community.
While we don’t want to continue to have another outbreak from COVID-19 variants, we think the best course of action is to recommend mask usage in the city, but each business would then have the option to require mask.
Now, it’s fine for the city to require it in public buildings with maybe one exception. That being an exception for the Roxy Theatre. The performers need to be able to perform without a mask on, as they are getting ready for one of their shows coming up next month. Other than that, the city can require masking all they want with their employees on duty and in city buildings.
However, we believe the best course of action right now is to let the people and businesses choose in those other public places. It’s something that could hurt local businesses, as shoppers might bypass Newton to opt for less restrictive regulations.
Right now, we think that Newton has bigger problems to address right now than mandating masks in the city.
