Businesses in Sanford will be required to enforce mask policies for employees and customers beginning at 5 p.m. this afternoon, Sanford Mayor Chet Mann announced during a Salvation Army Red Kettle kickoff event today.
Business owners will be subject to civil penalties and fines for failure to comply with the mandate.
“I would rather apologize for inconveniencing someone to wear a mask than apologize to their widow because I didn’t do more to save lives,” Mann said.
He said the decision was inspired by Gov. Roy Cooper’s Nov. 23 executive order authorizing cities to enforce the wearing of masks in public places. He pointed to Sanford’s COVID-19 numbers — 40 new cases between Nov. 19-23 alone, 2,381 total cases and 30 deaths in Lee County since April.
“Sanford has come so far in the last six to seven years, and we’ve achieved so much and so much positive momentum,” Mann said. “We have $2 billion worth of companies looking at us now, and we couldn’t allow this community to be hurt or set back by this pandemic. All we need to do is comply with state orders and wear a mask.”
Mann also said his announcement was made out of concern about the coming Thanksgiving holiday and, in particular, Black Friday shopping weekend.
Police, fire department officials and code enforcement will check in on businesses during the mandate to let business owners know “this is a real thing and it’s going to be enforce,” Mann said.
Mask mandates will not stop the virus. It’s only prolonging the issue. Now the government wants to punish businesses for their customers.
Prolonging life is the issue. I own a small business and I’d rather stay open with a mask mandate than close because the virus got too far out of hand. Everyone hang in there a little longer.
Apparently you have not lost a love one to the virus.I have and I am very happy with Mann’s decision. Mask saves lives. Period!
99.9 survival rate and you want me to wear mask. Only at work.
You “just” don’t get it. Your comments show extreme ignorance and the reason why we are now at this point. Read something scientific and stop fishing your news out of the fox news toilet.
No Cindy
Ben Shapiro Tim Poole and Steven crowder. No MSM for me
It’s obvious some people did not excel at math. Just using Lee county’s numbers, we are losing 1.24% of those who get it. Another way of putting that is 5 out of every 400 people infected, die. Wear your mask when out in the public. Take it off in your car or at home. The vaccines are coming. I am very pleased with the mask mandate.
The state legislature needs to step in now and give Cooper a reality check. He is a governor, not a King. I have no problem with Masks but when he wants to dictate what we do in our homes and threatens us with jail time and fines he needs to be rebuked and possible sanctioned.
When are we going to ban smoking? It kills thousands of people every year including people who are subjected to second hand smoke. If we are in the process of taking everyone’s freedoms, why not just go all the way.
They did ban smoking in businesses years ago. You can still walk around outside without a mask, just like you can walk around smoking, Good point that you made about it being for the good of the public not to smoke around others.
It really makes No sense…NOT to wear a mask. I see people everyday.. NOT wearing them. Idiots…in my opinion. So many people are getting covid-19. But yet so many people will not protect themselves. You would use a condom to protect yourself… Right? Wearing a mask is the samething.
You do NOT have the right to harm others. If you want to play covid Russian roulette with your family….go right ahead. However because of your ignorance you will go out and potentially harm others. That is and should always be illegal.
How do you really really really smart people think a RESPIRATORY DISEASE is spread? Your desire to feel like someone has wronged you is truly the hazard.
I am high risk. I am a cashier. I HAVE to work. No one is going to take care of me and pay my bills if I get sick.
Cooper is an idiot, and anyone that thinks he is a good leader is one too.
Copper has done an amazing job. I thank God for him.
I agree. Governor Cooper has remained level headed and has made intelligent informed decisions throughout this pandemic. I have the deepest respect for him.
100% agree! The liberals are doing their best to kill this city, this state and this country. STOP INFRINGING!!!!!!
I wholeheartedly agree with the Mayor’s decision given the increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The majority of the scientific community agree that mask wearing makes a big difference to slow the spread.
The majority of the scientific community do not agree on the masks. In fact they are evenly split. We know that the masks can reduce the splatter but they do not stop it. The mask manufactures do not guarantee their masks are 100 percent effective.
What I am seeing are infected individuals not quarantining and others not distancing. There are entirely too many people roaming around the big box stores and grocery stores.
In Asheville rest home care givers are wearing masks and face shields and the virus is still spreading.
There is definitely a failure to fully explain and educate people on how not to spread this highly contagious disease. What people don’t realize, unless you deal with the public everyday, is behaviors that can definitely cause people to get sick. People with masks that are filthy. People pulling down their masks to lick their fingers to count their money. People having access to hand sanitizer upon entry and exit to the store and not using it. Masks only covering their noses in over 1/2 of the people I see everyday.
I could go on and on……
We aren’t doing it right…that’s why it doesn’t appear to be working.
The government should never have the power to dictate to private businesses to mandate mask. It should be up the business. If you dont feel safe entering that business, then don’t. It’s not healthy to wear a mask all day.
Makes sense. A study that focused on Kansas, where counties can set mask mandates, shows that COVID rates have skyrocketed in this counties without them, but have gone down in those with them. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6947e2.htm
Next will be it is only a vaccine.. Mask are CAUSING bacterial pneumonia rates to increase. The order and fines are illegal. Business chooses to ask you to put on a mask do it or shop somewhere else. I have stopped shopping in Sanford due to this nonsense. But to require businesses to enforce an unlawful mandate is unconstitutional and illegal. Over a virus that you have to be tested to know you have and a 99.95% survival rate.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2022483
After the first vaccination, solicited systemic adverse events were reported by 5 participants (33%) in the 25-μg group, 10 (67%) in the 100-μg group, and 8 (53%) in the 250-μg group; all were mild or moderate in severity ([Figure 1][] and Table S2). Solicited systemic adverse events were more common after the second vaccination and occurred in 7 of 13 participants (54%) in the 25-μg group, all 15 in the 100-μg group, and all 14 in the 250-μg group, with 3 of those participants (21%) reporting one or more severe events.
[Figure 1]: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2022483#