Community leaders issue joint proclamation on mask usage
Taking a step closer to having to issue a mask mandate in Dubois County, area leaders issued a joint proclamation urging residents to wear masks voluntarily anytime they are in public.
The letter is signed by Huntingburg Mayor Denny Spinner, Jasper Mayor Dean Vonderheide, Ferdinand Council President Ken Sicard, Holland Town Board President Tom Thacker, Birdseye Town Board President Bret Eckert and Dubois County Commission President Chad Blessinger.
The proclamation comes as cases since 98 Covid-19 cases have been found since last Friday.
While falling short of mandating masks in the county, the letter states that joint proclamation is necessary to make residents aware that the exponential increase in Covid-19 cases in the county is alarming and must be curtailed.
Explaining that according to the overwhelming consensus of epidemiologists as well as the CDC, using masks is necessary to prevent the spread and keep the population safe.
The letter points out that the time for voluntary measures is quickly closing unless the community can stem the rate of Covid-19 spread. It explains that if the increase continues, it will likely have devastating impacts on the local economy as well as society.
Based on that, the county is facing that fact it may have to take more drastic measures like renewing the stay-at-home order or issuing a mask mandate.
In looking forward to the beginning of school, the letter urges residents to do more to contain the spread so students can return to school. “Without adequate community cooperation in place we cannot protect our youngest and most vulnerable citizens,” the proclamation reads.
The letter recommends everyone wear a mask in public when interacting with others outside their home, especially indoor settings. A facemask should cover the mouth and nose to prevent inadvertently spreading Covid-19.
The letter lists several exceptions for mask usage. You don’t have to wear a mask if you have a physical, medical or health-related reason, including those who are hearing or speaking impaired and for whom a face covering is an obstacle to communication; you are alone in a room in a public building; you have a job for which wearing a mask presents a safety risk; you are incarcerated; you are seated at a restaurant or bar, or other establishment that serves food and/or drink, while you are eating or drinking, however, individuals must wear face coverings in restaurants or bars in all other situations; or you are experiencing an emergency situation in which you lack the time or means to put on a face covering.
The proclamation is effective immediately and will remain in effect until expiration or termination of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s declared public health emergency.
The county is planning to provide a public update at 3:30 p.m. today on YouTube.
And now everyone will have a medical condition that prohibits their use of a mask. I do understand that some actually do have issues, but some do not and will use this as an excuse to NOT wear one. I do wear one for my job and if I notice someone is having difficulty understanding me, I take one side away from my mouth but still near it and speak louder, haven’t had problems yet.
Just please wear your mask to keep everyone safe. Do your part. Thank you.
seems like the incarcerated population should have to wear a mask. tgey are not sicially distanced and not related. cganges frequently so you don’t know where the next person has been. protect them too! mask up!
Doesn’t it seem strange that we have had qualified people testing here for some time now and just when the positives were coming way down, they send in new people to test and they find 98 POSITIVES IN ONE WEEK ??? And this is happening all throughout the United States ! Seems fishy to me! And I don’t have a problem with masks. I do have a problem with the people trying to keep fear going in this country….
It’s cause and effect. The rise in the cases directly correlates when states reopened and people felt comfortable to travel and attend private gatherings for the Fourth of July.
The only problem is peopling peddling conspiracy theories and falsehoods which will only make it harder to contain this thing.
No, because with more openings and gatherings such as 4th of July parties, the Jasper downtown chow wagons etc.
I believe folks are becoming less concerned and not wearing masks, and especially not social distancing. I understand that all want this to go away….but I don’t believe that will happen anytime soon.
For those that believe it will all just go away after the election….I pray they are correct, but I know they are not.
MAKE IT MANDATORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who will enforce if it is mandatory? Are the cops going to arrest someone for not wearing one?
Rob, starting last night at 5PM in Bloomington masks are a requirement. 1st time you are caught without it is a warning; 2nd and 3rd times are a $200 fine; 4th time is a $500 fine and hail time.
My son lives there and was telling me this last night.
Carol,
The positive cases were down because people were largely staying home. Once we opened up the businesses and people started getting out and ignoring the guidelines *boom* — positive cases everywhere. There’s nothing mysterious or “fishy” about that.
Sorry about that previous post. I was taking too much Ambien and acting like a low-rent Roseanne Barr.
Andy, you are correct!
Carol, that made me literally laugh out loud!
Its gonna become mandatory and needs to be. First time warning then fines. About time!!!!!!
Unless the governor brings in the general assembly, he can’t make this a crime according to state constitution.
Let’s look at the real problem here. Sure, the fear mongering and conspiracy theories are a problem. But the root of the problem is trust. Or in this case, the lack of it. The American people do not trust the media. And the media has given us no reason to trust them. There is no way to get a set of facts in this country without having at least some doubt in their truth. This is a serious problem and will only get worse. The first amendment is very important, but it is illegal to tell “fire” in a crowded building. The same common sense needs to be applied to the media. The country cannot function if things cannot be communicated between the government and the people. Social media has recently began censoring and removing anything that “they feel” to be inappropriate for any reason. We pretend we are well informed and living at the pinnacle of an advanced society. We could not be more wrong.
Thank you for that post Oscar. I agree. Personally, I am no fan of the radical right and certainly no fan of the socialist, radical left, but it is absolutely terrifying when you review the ideological driven responses from all of the news organizations. Who knows what the truth is ? I try to be as responsible as I can and research for myself through a variety of sources.
Media “misinformation” isn’t going to sicken or kill half my family. Listen to U.S. and worldwide medical organizations that have stopped H1N1, Ebola, and swine flu all within recent memory. Because half of the country, and probably 75% of Dubois county based upon each time I’ve gone to the store, isn’t doing even that.
JK, if you don’t think media misinformation has the potential to sicken or kill 1/2 of your family you need to brush up on your world history.
Oh sure, that horrible media telling everyone to avoid unnecessary travel, reduce points of contact and transmission as much as possible and follow things you learned in middle school on how not to get cooties on other people. How reckless!
It’s a little bit different than the media trying to drum up a war with Spain in 1898 don’t you think?
No.
Are you serious?
The decision to reopen States was based more on financial reasons than anything else. If you remember we were told to social distance, wear a mask and wash our hands in every step of the reopening plan, including the step we’re in now.
On the 4th of July Indiana wasn’t totally reopened. What has caused the increase in COVID-19 cases in my opinion is irresponsible decisions to open places or schedule activities where social distancing is impossible. For example, Holiday World opened, local pools opened, 4th of July gatherings, any activities like the Downtown Chow Down, and sporting activities.
It’s time to take responsibility for your decisions. Stop the blame game.
If your told to mask up, grow up and do the right thing. If you can’t say anything good about it don’t say anything at all! But mask up!
We can’t rely on “media” to spoon-feed information to us, and then complain when we get conflicting, unreliable or inadequate information. There are plenty of reliable, data-driven sources out there–both in the US and internationally–that aren’t political and don’t have an agenda other than to disseminate information.
This shouldn’t be a “left” or a “right” issue. It’s a health crisis that has the potential to have a very devastating effect on our community. As Rosemary said, we all need to take responsibility for educating ourselves and arming ourselves with the two best protections available to us: facts and a face mask.
I agree with you Andy it shouldn’t be political, and I have no issue wearing a mask when I can’t social distance, but I do disagree with you that there are plenty of reliable, data driven sources. Can you name them? Please don’t say WHO and CDC. If you think those sources are not corrupted and driven politically then you have some more research to do.
Oh sure, I guess I’ll trust the random guy on youtube or facebook for my medical information. Not the worldwide organizations that have largely contained the Virus in Europe, New Zealand and elsewhere.
The blueprint to fixing this is out in the open but it’s too inconvenient for Americans to follow it.
LOL!!! The World Health Organization contained it! Are you kidding me ? I try to be reasonable, but that is laughable.
I never said that. What I said that other nations have contained the impact of the virus. Driven by multinational medical organizations and their guidance, you can even exclude WHO if you want.
New Zealand:
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS811US811&ei=8_EUX8LODJDPtQbMt6zIDA&q=new+zealand+coronavirus+cases&oq=new+zealandcoranavirus+case&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQARgAMgQIABANMgQIABANMgQIABANMgQIABANMgQIABANMgQIABANMgQIABANMgQIABANMgQIABANMgQIABANOgQIABAKUL6cBFjVtARggMIEaANwAHgAgAGDAYgB0QqSAQQxMS4zmAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpeg&sclient=psy-ab
Italy (Remember how bad it was there!)
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS811US811&ei=P_IUX7KtC5O2tAaknKeQDA&q=Italy+coronavirus+cases&oq=Italy+coronavirus+cases&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzIECAAQQzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADoECAAQClDC9QVYrfwFYJeABmgAcAB4AIABkAGIAfUEkgEDMi40mAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpeg&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwjyyJLr1drqAhUTG80KHSTOCcIQ4dUDCAw&uact=5
France
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS811US811&ei=o_IUX-mZCtiF9PwPoY6RoA8&q=France+coronavirus+cases&oq=France+coronavirus+cases&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzIICAAQsQMQgwEyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAA6BwgAELEDEEM6BAgAEEM6BggAEAcQHjoECAAQCjoECAAQDVDGf1jakwFgo5UBaARwAHgAgAF3iAGPCZIBAzguNJgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwip9-ia1trqAhXYAp0JHSFHBPQQ4dUDCAw&uact=5
and more have all gotten cases the manageable levels.
Meanwhile in the U.S.
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS811US811&ei=4vIUX937J9TVtAbekLqYCA&q=united+states+coronavirus+cases&oq=united+states+coronavirus+cases&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzIICAAQsQMQgwEyAggAMgIIADICCAAyCAgAELEDEIMBMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAA6BwgAEEcQsAM6BggAEAcQHjoECAAQQzoECAAQCjoECAAQDToICAAQDRAFEB46BQgAEMQCOgYIABANEApQ95AEWISoBGDGqQRoAnAAeACAAYUBiAG6DJIBBDE0LjOYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwjd9Iu51trqAhXUKs0KHV6IDoMQ4dUDCAw&uact=5
The whole point is to make so that if people are unlucky enough to get Covid, they hospitals can provide proper treatment. The graph is plenty clear the U.S. and states that refused to implement even basic guidelines have failed in this regard by every measure.
Speaking of sources, where are yours that say the U.S. is doing great and this is all no big deal?
The use of masks can be recommended and proclaimed till the cows come home…until it hits people where it hurts, it ain’t happening.
Agree with you – although you didn’t actually say it wasn’t a good idea for a mandatory mask rule, but that’s what you seemed (to me) to infer – masks will not be forced on people even if “mandatory.” Not only that, our city/county “officials” – however well-intended if more for show/solidarity to look/be important like the big cities and with the no-nothing WHO/CDC/MSM talking-heads – have no idea what they’re in for and how such a law will be enforced (not to any meaningful, beneficial degree even by converting all police to mask-only police, etc.). Maybe violators will end up like the KY couple under house arrest and wearing ankle-bracelet locators – such absurdity. So totally WRONG and with such ineffective, misguided control attempts by those pre-disposed to the left-lib knee-jerk and fear-mongering of little more than fear itself. Don’t do this, officials – you don’t know what you’re in for and you cannot FORCE this on free and independent people without compounding the problem itself. It is indeed NOT so easy – mandatory masks are NOT the answer – merely a would-be convolution/overreaction and pseudo-answer to an already confused, misunderstood and misstated problem where fear has (been led to) become worse than the virus.
I’m curious. What is your “red line” of American deaths for you to consider that maybe wearing a simple cloth mask when in public might not be the 1984 nightmare you think it is?
Forget the law. It’s just giving an ounce of care about your neighbors and your community. Is that so hard?
In my opinion what’s worse than the virus is individuals who refuse to listen to sound advice: wash your hands, practice social distancing, and wear a face mask. It’s individuals who think they know more about the virus than the CDC and other health agencies. This is an unknown virus and were ALL learning about it together. But we’re not the experts looking into this.
It’s individuals who are also glued to news media stations seeking information. I don’t understand the problem, are you all afraid of the virus or are you all afraid to be told what to do?
But in my opinion your actions are just as bad if not worse than the virus. Look at the grocery store shelves. Your all hollering about your rights being violated when people are dying of the virus. Your all making it political when that’s not what it’s about.
Stop watching the news and take responsibility for yourself. You can’t change what anyone else says or does. But you can change what you say and do.
If they can force you to wear a mask, they can force you to get a poorly tested vaccine….or an abortion. Let’s not go off half cocked and waive our rights to our bodies just because CNN has us all terrified of a virus with a 98% survival rate.
Give me a break, Oscar. CNN did not create Covid-19 any more than FoxNews has been successful in ignoring it away. As far as your “rights,” being asked to wear a mask is no more of an infringement on your personal freedom than being required to wear a seat belt or being told to smoke outside.
I would also point out that your “98% survival rate” is misleading. It means a mortality rate of 2%, compared to an influenza mortality rate of roughly 0.1%–making Covid-19 many times more lethal. Even at less than 1% (let’s say 0.6%), based on the current US population, this would equate to around 2 million deaths. At present, however, the ratio of deaths to positive cases in the US is running closer to 4% per capita. We are among the top nations in terms of Covid mortality right now.
I’ll say it again: Educate yourself. If you don’t trust CDC, there are a others that are focused purely on the science and data and provide updates on positive cases, testing and other information:
Mathematica:
https://www.mathematica.org/features/covid-19-curated-data-modeling-and-policy-resources
John Hopkins University:
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/
Closer to home, the Indiana Covid-19 Dashboard:
https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/2393.htm
Germany has less political control over their data, and they have the case mortality rate at about 0.3%. Yes this is higher than the flu, but not significantly.
It is ridiculous to assume that everyone in the US will contract COVID-19. You may expect something closer to 60% over the course of the next 10 years. And yes, it will be around that long. For example, the H1N1 that is touted by others above is not “handled”, it is now simply called the seasonal flu. COVID-19 will be called that soon, probably after the election.
Just make it mandatory and maybe imma ruth will get house arrest. Her comments are point less. MASK UP PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOU CHILDREN AND LOVED ONES. EVEN PEOPLE YOU DONT KNOW.
I challenge/encourage ALL OF YOU right now, to google “Love breeds accountability” Go to the piece entitled “your mask is making you meaner” and read ALL OF IT!! Not part of it. ALL OF IT!!! Then, if you can muster some calmness, think about our community leaders who’ve no doubt lost as much sleep (if not more) than the rest of us over this terrible thing and consider what we can do to help them. They are no doubt thinking about us and having to make difficult and unprecedented decisions.
I read it. Here’s what I think:
“I’ll try to keep this respectful but it’s not easy because the masks that so many of you are so proudly wearing are the pinnacle of stupidity and I just don’t know how to be nice about communicating that ”
Quite a start for a blog with Love in the title but whatever.
“And I know the media, academia and Hollywood are very effective at shaping our impressions of social and political goings-on.”
Anti-maskers, and the alt-right in general, love to do this. They undermine all possible rebuttals because for some reasons. Everyone has some kind of agenda – except for them apparently. The writer does this again in their updates at the end of the article. People love to say the data is bad… and provide not other data in return.
“You can’t say with any real certainty or evidence that you know you’re right to wear one [A Mask]”
This would be the point to include that masks are ineffective at reducing the spread of diseases – any disease. But wait a minute. That’s the first problem with the article. There are zero sources to back up any claims made by the writer of this piece! No science of any kind. No links. Nothing. This is not the first pandemic the world has faced. There have been centuries of scholarship on the Bubonic Plague, The Spanish Flu, AIDS/HIV and every contagious disease to ever grace our planet. If there *is* evidence that it won’t work it should exist by now.
“a good chunk of you excitedly see your masks as fashion accessories that make you look cooler, hotter or just more “woke.” ”
Are you for real? Doctor’s and dentist have worn these for years. People have had sillier fashion trends. Also – no data to support this. Not even some kid on tik-tok or youtube gloating about this mask. This might as well be made up.
“But whether you love or hate wearing it, when you see someone who isn’t you take it personally. You’ve been told that that person doesn’t care about your health and safety. And you believed it.”
What will they do to indicate that they *do* care about my health and safety and that my family? It’s such a small simple thing to do to reduce the risk of the spread but they can’t be bothered?
I think the “YOUR MASK IS MAKING YOU DUMBER” portion is largely out of date and not a good example anymore. The writer references Sweden multiple times as an answer for a possible model by this has been proven out of date. Sweden had a low number of cases initially but they soon faced a jumped as expected and they have the highest number of cases among EU Member states. I don’t expect the writer to predict the future, especially with no scholarship backing up their claims so I won’t hold it against them. But so much for the “These are facts” line.
Writer also weirdly states that mask wearers don’t wash their hands. This is very much against the advice stated since the beginning. My company told us in February to be extra diligent in washing hands. It would help if they had data to cite where people who wear masks don’t wash their hands. But that another thing they left off…
The Less Safe part says that Herd Immunity will work in the long run. That will likely be true. It was probably the case with the Bubonic plauge. One small problem though. 75 million people died at least with some estimates up to 200 million primarily concentrated with Europe. It took 200 years for Europe to reach it levels of population pre-plague.
The economic hit would be massive if we let the virus spread with no mitigation whatsoever. Even if the virus death rate is 2% that is still millions dead in the U.S. alone, Goldman Sachs has even suggested a mask initiative would be beneficial for the economy.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wearing-a-mask-to-halt-the-spread-of-coronavirus-has-a-big-impact-on-us-economic-growthand-goldman-has-done-the-math-2020-06-30
For the writer to put into bold “go do everything you can to contract COVID-19” is not only nonsensical, but dangerous. Oh and again. Zero science to back up any of their points.
One other thing out of date as of just today – it is possible to be reinfected with Covid if you already have had it https://www.jpost.com/health-science/israeli-doctor-reinfected-with-coronavirus-3-months-after-recovering-635550
Their conclusion… isn’t really a conclusion. they base a lot on herd immunity being the end all be all and since that has been proven to not work it falls flat. So its “Don’t be mad at people not wearing masks” I guess? If they made a genuine case that not wearing a mask was better than wearing a mask that would be one thing but they didn’t do that in the slightest. Sorry, I do consider it a problem if people cannot so much a lift a finger to help out their community.
So what we can do for our leaders in our community? Listen to them, this suggestion, and not random online bloggers with no basis other than a personal righteousness and wear. a. mask.
Jason,
Since this article was released there has been an exhaustive meta-study on wearing masks, the Swiss experiment for herd immunity is looked at largely as a failure, and we have tons of feedback from national s that have instituted mask mandates that were largely successful. Wearing a mask reduces the spread significantly, and keeps people alive while a vaccine is being created (which sacrifices way fewer lives than aiming towards herd immunity, if herd immunity is even possible – it might not be). Masks should be mandated, and people who do not wear them should be warned and fined, same as driving drunk, not wearing a safety belt, etc.
“COVID-19 will be called [seasonal flu] soon, probably after the election.”
What a ridiculous statement. Seasonal flu doesn’t have the high infection and mortality rate that Covid-19 has. Doesn’t include a large percentage of asymptomatic cases that are just as contagious but much harder to contain. Doesn’t present with some of the disturbing symptoms and long-term effects that doctors are now seeing with Covid: lung damage, increased risk for stroke, kidney failure, and other systemic problems that we don’t see connected with flu or any other known virus. Flu typically doesn’t affect younger age groups, which doctors are now seeing with this virus.
And seasonal flu is…seasonal. Covid-19 is still going strong.
Wow. So much confusion about the facts. Maybe we should all listen to JK. Clearly he is the only one who knows anything. After all, he reserves the right to tell us what to do. Let’s hope he is a medical or legal expert.
You are more than welcome to refute anything I have posted. It’s the purpose of an online forum. Please enlighten me on anywhere I am “confused” because any position on anti-mask is either blatantly politically motivated or based is pseudo-science conspiracy theories. I’m welcome to be proven otherwise.
But if you want to be flippant and stick your head in the sand and only seek viewpoints you want to hear, you are welcome to do that too I guess.
You all can argue science or politics or conspiracy theories all you want, but at the end of the day it’s not that much to ask for people around here to wear a mask if there’s a chance that it helps protects others. I don’t care what side of the political fence you’re on, this should be about working together to get our community through this. We certainly gave up enough “liberties” just to board an airplane after 9/11. Why should this crisis be any different?
I guess I just never realized until now that I live among so many selfish people. Selfish and mean-spirited.
Irma Ruth (or whoever you are) and a couple of others, I truly hope you aren’t people actually I know.
AMEN TO THAT WELL SPOKEN
On July 18 at 10:35 pm JK clearly stated, and in clear English that 1/2 of his family would die from Covid. He must be psychic. What a putts. Nothing this man says has any value. And for whatever narcicistic rube compared abortion to seat belt laws, driving is a privilege. You do not have the “right” to drive. However, Row vs. Wade clearly set precident that Americans have a right to choose and make decisions about their own bodies and health. This is clearly not like wearing a seat belt. And just by the continually changing “facts” in these posts, I can tell that my original post is very valid. The media is lying to us. By the way, JK, I am sorry about that 1/2 of your family.
There is nothing further to discuss with you or any way I or anyone can convince you to care about other people. Perhaps if they were unborn you might care? Regardless, I’ll go ahead and extend a courtesy you don’t want to extend to me and I hope you and your loved ones make it out of this unscathed.
You never refuted anything he said. Is it because he’s right so you have no argument in response? Is that why you resorted to a weak ad hominem attack? He seems obviously more educated and thoughtful on this issue than you, which means people would actually be better off listening to him. Yes Fox news is full of falsehoods, but you have provided very few facts, lots of misleading speculation, and plenty of falsehoods. For example: “If they can force you to wear a mask, they can force you to get a poorly tested vaccine….or an abortion.” They can force us to wear clothes in public (forcing us to do something with our bodies). They already do force us to get vaccines (thought it’s generally a good idea anyway) to go to public school. They don’t force abortions. That’s a slippery slope argument you failed.
For all anti-mask “don’t mess with my constitutional rights” people, I’m assuming you won’t have a problem the next time you have a surgical procedure if the doctors and nurses feel their rights are being violated and refuse to wear masks because they are too confining.
Adults were throwing fits and panicking over a possible Government mandated order to wear a mask.
When the Governor officially made the order a comment was made saying it’s against the constitution and the only way to enforce it is to call in the National Guard.
What will it take for you to grow up and take responsibility? Shame on you! Maybe when COVID-19 takes one of your family members you will realize how serious this virus is.
This isn’t about rights, the constitution and it’s not political.
It’s about responsibility, respect, and doing the right thing.
Mask up my friends and save lives.