If SLO County won’t require masks, cities should — especially this coronavirus hot spot

If we really want San Luis Obispo County to reopen — and who doesn’t? — it makes sense to do everything in our power to stop the spread of coronavirus.

That means social distancing. Hand washing. And, yes, it means face masks.

Face coverings are no guarantee against coronavirus, by any means. But even a cotton bandanna can catch droplets we spew when we cough, sneeze or just plain talk.

That’s especially important in close quarters, like grocery aisles.

Yet many in SLO County still resist wearing masks — even when stores require it for the safety of their customers and their employees.

So why not make masks mandatory, at least for shopping trips?

Ideally, there should be one rule for all of San Luis Obispo County: When you’re out shopping, wear a face mask. That would save a lot of confusion and send a uniform message of support.

It also would help businesses, which are now stuck with enforcing mask mandates on their own — sometimes at a danger to themselves.

One example: When a Little Ceasars in Santa Maria refused service to someone who did not have a mask, the customer became so angry he broke the restaurant’s front window, according to KSBY.

Yet given the makeup of the SLO County Board of Supervisors, the chance of passing a countywide mask mandate is none to none — unless county Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein were to recommend it. (More on that later.)

The means it’s up to the seven individual cities to require masks in their jurisdictions to fight COVID-19.

The cities hardest hit by the virus — Paso Robles and Atascadero — should make that a priority.

As of Thursday, the city of Paso and surrounding unincorporated areas had 90 of the county’s 237 positive cases. That’s 38% of all cases in the county.

The next highest number of cases — 34 — was in neighboring Atascadero.

Thankfully, most local cases of COVID-19 have been mild. The vast majority of patients — 188 of the 237 who tested positive — have recovered, and there has been only one death linked to coronavirus in San Luis Obispo County.

Still, this is a numbers game; the state is looking at how many new cases there are in each county — not just at the number of fatalities. And so far, San Luis Obispo County has not met the state’s benchmark for new cases.

So why not use all the “tools” in the prevention toolbox, including face coverings?

Several nearby communities, including Monterey County and Santa Barbara County now require face masks to be worn in public places, such as stores and on mass transit.

Yet so far, Pismo Beach is the only city in SLO County looking to take that step; the council voted 3-2 on May 5 to require workers and customers to wear masks inside essential businesses and is scheduled to take a final vote May 19.

The San Luis Obispo City Council considered a similar ordinance but dismissed the idea — in part because Borenstein hasn’t come down on the side of mandatory masks.

She doesn’t believe there’s enough evidence, at this point, to support requiring masks in SLO County.

She’s concerned, too, that some people should not be wearing masks, including those with respiratory problems.

There’s a simple fix for that. The Monterey County order exempted children, people with breathing problems and people who are incapacitated.

For the rest of us, wearing a mask when we go to the grocery store or the post office is not a big deal.

And it’s certainly nothing to get on a constitutional high horse over.

It’s another hygiene measure, sort of like banning dogs from farmers markets and requiring food service workers to wash their hands after using the restroom.

And remember the primary objective: preventing the spread of coronavirus.

That, in turn, will allow SLO County to reopen more businesses and relax restrictions that have kept us apart from friends and family.

That’s well worth the small inconvenience of masking up for a trip to the supermarket or hardware store.

We strongly urge Pismo Beach to lead the way by adopting a mask mandate on May 19.

This has been updated to include more recent figures and to clarify that Paso Robles cases include residents in both the city limits and surrounding unincorporated areas.

This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.