Athens councilwoman calls for wearing masks

(Courtesy Photo: Athens Councilwoman Toni Garrard Clay.)

During Monday night’s Athens City Council meeting, Councilwoman Toni Garrard Clay spoke about the coronavirus pandemic and asked local businesses to “implement, wherever possible, face mask requirements for entering their premises.”

After the meeting, she released a letter to members of the local media.

Below is her letter:

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June 22, 2020

To my fellow Athenians, friends, neighbors, and to the business owners and community leaders who are instrumental in the prosperity of our city:

I address you both as a proud 43-year resident of Athens and as a city leader compelled to sound the alarm out of love for my neighbors. We find ourselves in a clear and present danger. While in the beginning, we saw through a glass darkly, the picture is increasingly clear regarding how the COVID-19 virus is spread and how quickly it is spreading. The news is not good.

We — and I include myself — have thought ourselves here in rural East Texas to be somewhat buffered against the sharp edge of the virus; I fear we may come to regret our approach. In his June 22 statewide address, Gov. Abbott called the rate of COVID-19 spread “unacceptable.” While it has been argued that the higher numbers are misleading because increased testing results in increased positives, I believe we can all agree that increased testing does not lead to increased hospitalizations. Consider then that as of this writing, on June 22, Texas is averaging more than 3,200 hospitalization per day. Let me underscore that: Texas has experienced a 146 percent increase since Memorial Day. Hospitalization in a single day, from June 21 to June 22, rose 9 percent.

So what can we do? Do we shut down businesses again? It seems clear that the very least disruptive thing we can do to protect our personal health and the health of our economy is to wear masks consistently.

A recent study by a team of researchers led by my alma mater, Texas A&M University, found that not wearing a face mask dramatically increases a person’s chances of being infected by the COVID-19 virus. Researchers looked at trends and mitigation procedures in China, Italy and New York City and found that using a face mask reduced the number of infections by more than 78,000 in Italy over a one-month period and by over 66,000 in New York City over a three-week period. The results send a clear message that wearing a face mask is essential to combating COVID-19.

The governor issued an executive order this month banning local governments from imposing fines or penalties on people who do not wear masks in public. Practically speaking, that leaves us with few options as a city government. This is why I am asking business owners to implement, wherever possible, face mask requirements for entering their premises — just as businesses regularly require shirts and shoes in return for service. I am also asking my fellow Athenians to voluntarily wear masks — not for their own sakes, but out of concern for the well-being of their neighbors. And, yes, I am referring to the Biblical edict that we should love our neighbors and put their welfare before our own.

I have spoken to our city manager about what we can do to encourage more mask wearing behavior. The city of Athens received a federal allocation of $149,000 — 75 percent of which must be used on medical-related expenses, such as masks and hand sanitizer. In the coming days, our city staff will work toward ordering both masks and hand sanitizer to be given to local businesses for free distribution to their customers. While there are details to be worked out, the upcoming purchase and distribution is intended as a concrete way Athenians can help one another live out the exhortation in Philippians to look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Sincerely,

Toni Garrard Clay
Athens City Councilwoman, Place 1

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