‘Personal responsibility’ isn’t working. We need mask mandates.
By Editorial Board,
NO METHOD of blocking the spread of the coronavirus is perfect, but many of them are good. The use of cloth face masks is not a guarantee against broadcasting or receiving the virus, but when combined with other measures such as hand-washing and distancing, it can sharply reduce the spread. That’s why it is entirely wrongheaded for some Republican governors to resist the face mask mandates that President-elect Joe Biden has urged. Thirty-four states and the District have mandated face coverings in public; as the pandemic dangerously escalates, the others should join them.
South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi L. Noem has resisted making masks mandatory. Politico quotes a spokesperson as saying Ms. Noem has given people full information about the disease and “has trusted them to exercise their personal responsibility to make the best decisions for themselves and their loved-ones.” The virtue of “personal responsibility” is hard to argue with, but what happens when personal responsibility is not enough, and people are endangering others? In Ms. Noem’s state, the test positivity rate is a calamitous 56.4 percent, and new cases are soaring. If government can mandate seat-belt usage to prevent death and injury in car accidents, is it so much more difficult to require people to wear masks that can also save lives?
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Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma said he would not order a mask mandate. “I’ve been very clear that I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. This is a personal responsibility, this pleading with people to do the right thing” and voluntarily wear a mask, Stitt said, adding he would support individual cities that have passed mask mandates. Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said a mandate is necessary because many people would not voluntarily wear one. “We’re still debating if people should wear masks or not in our region, ridiculous,” Mr. Bynum said. “I still can’t find a good policy-based explanation for why we would not [mandate masks].” Oklahoma’s hospitalizations are at record levels for the pandemic, and its test positivity is 19.2 percent.
Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska said at a news briefing that if Mr. Biden “approaches me about a mask mandate, I would not be going along with a mask mandate.” But the governor has urged people to wear them — what would be wrong with taking one more step and mandating face masks? The state’s test positivity rate is 38.4 percent. Six weeks ago, there were about 200 people hospitalized with covid-19 in Nebraska, while now there are 885.
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To be sure, a large number of governors and mayors have done the right thing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has pointed to a host of studies showing that cloth masks can reduce viral transmission — not perfectly, but certainly with enough efficacy to be worth everyone’s effort until a vaccine or effective therapy arrives. The Republican governors who are holding out against mask mandates should recognize that government has a responsibility to protect lives when personal responsibility falls short.
Read more: Letters to the Editor: The federal government can mandate masks Gary Abernathy: I’m not so sure on masks. But here’s why I wear one. Letters to the Editor: Why is it so hard for some people to wear masks? Francis Suarez and Vin Gupta: Mask mandates won’t work — unless they are enforced The Post’s View: Trump again puts politics over health — but you shouldn’t. Wear a mask on mass transit.
