Seeing Scioto Businesses Without Masks ... Without Care

 

I'm pissed. I went to a pharmacy yesterday to get my prescription and found an employee wasn't wearing a mask during the peak of the COVID-19 spread. I asked why the person was not wearing a mask and the management would not give me a reasonable answer, instead replying “I don't know.” My anger took hold of me as I signed for my order and visibly showed my irritation. This incident continues to haunt me.

Of course, I transferred my prescriptions to another business. I strongly believe following Ohio's new mask mandate is necessary to prevent infections and to save lives. In Scioto County, we are experiencing more cases and more death than at any other time since the coronavirus began. I was incensed at the store's evidently deliberate noncompliance.

The new order for Ohio that went into effect November 16 clearly states …

“Each store is responsible for ensuring that customers and employees are wearing masks … All retailers must post and enforce a sign indicating that masks are required at all entrances … Each business should designate an on-site compliance officer for each business location and each shift during all business hours to enforce these requirements.”

Ohio Governor Mike Dewine stated:

“Each Ohioan who goes out to shop has the right to know that every store they enter will be safe and the people they encounter in that store will be wearing a mask. We know that masks work. They are the easiest, most cost-effective way to limit the spread of COVID-19.”

That's clear. Masks work. The mandate applies. No matter the Ohio business's excuse for not complying with this minor inconvenience, the responsibility rests with them. As as essential public retail operation, the store must insure safety above all. Failure to do so puts untold numbers of people at risk. The hazard is evident.

Penalties for businesses’ noncompliance are a written warning for a first violation and temporary 24-hour closure for a second violation. No one wants these businesses to be fined for noncompliance. However, if they break the order, the fault is entirely their own. Unless all Ohioans – including businesses and customers – take personal responsibility to bring the surge under control, health experts say Ohio could exhaust its resources, and hospitals may have to defer non-coronavirus care plus the state could close schools and businesses in another statewide shutdown.

Responsibility requires accepting you are the cause and the solution of a matter. On the other hand, irresponsibility makes excuses. Employers should first attempt to explain the mask requirement to employees and convince them of the need to wear a mask.

But, if these employers and employees are willing to compromise the health and safety of their customers, the state must hold them accountable for their deliberate risky actions. Consider that such a non-compliant business might also neglect COVID-19 symptoms of those in their employ and even refuse to screen or, most importantly, demand that those people be tested and quarantined if necessary.

Nothing negates the fact that we are dealing with a global pandemic that is costing thousands of lives a day. Personal preference, rebellion against control, sense of invulnerability, political unrest – none of these excuses for non-masking is acceptable. Indifference is no different than deliberate denial – the disease knows no boundaries or preferences.

Dr. Moe Gelbart, Executive Director of the Thelma McMillen Recovery Center, believes we are all in the fight against the pandemic together and the choices each one of us makes is important.

According to Gelbart, all behavior is related to a risk/reward formula, based on our perceptions and the narratives we tell ourselves. Sometimes, we are limited by our understanding of our motives, and anything which brings new light and new information to us helps us clarify our choices and better understand our reasoning for doing things.

To illustrate this point, the doctor shares this parable:

“Once upon a time there was an old man who used to walk on the beach every morning. One morning, after a particularly bad storm, he found the beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see.

“Off in the distance, he noticed a little boy, stopping every so often to pick up an object, and throw it into the sea. As the boy came closer, the man asked, 'What are you doing?'

The boy replied, 'Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up on the beach. They can’t return to the sea by themselves, and when the sun gets high, they will die unless I throw them back into the water.'

“The man said, 'There are tens of thousands of starfish….I’m afraid you won’t really make much of a difference.'

“The boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean. He smiled, and said, 'It made a difference to that one.'”

(Dr. Moe Gelbart. “Unmasking the ''Wear a Mask” Dilemma.” Torrence Memorial. Cedars Sinai Affiliate July 13, 2020.)