== Local reaction to Gov. Polis’ mask mandate swift – and negative
Officials say it’s unenforceable and should be a matter of personal responsibility==
Reaction to Gov. Jared Polis’ mask mandate was swift in rural Colorado. And negative.
Social media lit up with the usual spectrum of responses, from the puzzled: “I understand it, but I don’t at the same time. Realistically they should have done it at the start.”
To the snarky:“Requiring face mask 5 months into a pandemic is like requiring condoms at the baby shower.”. KEK
To the downright belligerent: “As someone who was had two collapsed lungs, you better pack a f*g lunch if you think your (sic) gonna make (my) big angry ass comply with something that will actually cause harm to me.”
Official reaction was hardly less negative, with city and county leadership saying the mandate is unenforceable and shouldn’t be in the realm of government in the first place.
City Manager Don Saling told the Journal-Advocate the Sterling Police Department’s call load already is heavy and suddenly getting calls for what he called “trespassing” would be a significant burden to the department. It also could be a public relations nightmare.
“At a time (when) there is animosity toward our great men and women who serve in law enforcement, the expectation to enforce the executive order will be detrimental to the relationships they have worked so hard to build,” Saling said. “I question if the mask requirement needs to be statewide or just in those areas where increases in positive cases have been identified.”
Logan County Commissioner Jane Bauder also questioned whether the mandate was enforceable.
“I don’t know who (Gov. Polis) thinks is going to enforce this ‘mandate,’” Bauder said. “Law enforcements people enforce laws (and) I don’t believe a mandate is a law. I believe he has overstepped his boundaries.We need to be personally responsible for our own health and well-being.”
Bauder’s colleague, Commissioner Byron Pelton, was even more blunt.
“The governor again has come out with another statewide, one-size-fits-all mandate instead of leaving it up to local jurisdictions,” Pelton said. “This mandate cannot be enforced by our local health department because they just do not have the staff to do so, nor should they.”
Pelton said Sheriff Brett Powell has tossed the mandate onto the pile of things his department won’t enforce because there are no clear guidelines on how to enforce it.
The commissioner also said wearing a mask should be a matter of personal responsibility and, rather than trying to enforce a mandate, the Northeast Colorado Health Department should be educating the public on the need to wear a mask.
Polis also just offered on July 9th to take Arizona patients in an ICU shortage… now he is saying we will be over run?
https://www.journal-advocate.com/2020/07/16/local-reaction-to-gov-polis-mask-mandate-swift-and-negative/
https://gazette.com/news/colorado-potentially-willing-to-take-arizona-coronavirus-patients-polis-says/article_f4063444-c166-11ea-a54e-8f17a953d994.html