A member of Mayor Berry’s Recovery Task Force was quoted last week saying it’s “typical Eureka to prioritize public health over money, and that’s why so many visitors feel comfortable coming to the city.”
Unfortunately, this is absolutely not true at the moment. Eureka Springs is not a safe place in this pandemic because we still do not have a mask ordinance. If you walk around downtown, hardly anyone is wearing a mask, visitors or shopkeepers. Only a handful of shops are requiring masks. And Mayor Berry is working against the city council to enact an ordinance. The response has been that the ordinance is unenforceable because we are not allowed to levy fines or penalties, so why bother? And that our police force can only “lecture” people to wear masks. This futile perspective is short sighted. Why bother?
First off, passing the ordinance is the right thing to do. The CDC and WHO, not to mention the Arkansas Department of Health, are all very clear: person-to-person spread through respiratory droplets is by far the biggest way Covid-19 is spread. And, the virus is spread vigorously by asymptomatic people. The best way to keep the virus contained is by everyone wearing a mask. When everyone is masked inside or near each other outside, it cuts transmission by 85% or more.
When some are masked and some are not masked, that protection drops to something like 15-20%. It is irrelevant if the ordinance can be enforced or not. Why? Because most people want to be law abiding. If you make it a law, most people will comply. How do I know this? Because of Rogers and Fayetteville. They both passed the ordinance and if you visit those towns you will notice that about 90% of the people going about their business are masked now. There will always be 10% of people who will refuse regardless of penalty or not. But they will be outliers and not the majority. Social pressure is a powerful tool and implementing it now is crucial.
Shop owners I know in Rogers are thankful their mayor and council unanimously passed a mask ordinance. Why? Because they are not left to their own devices trying to get customers to wear masks. It’s law now. Creating social pressure to do the right thing works. And it does not need to be enforceable, per se.
Rather than have Eureka Springs Police officers walk around and hand out fines all day, they could be walking around thanking our visitors for wearing masks and helping to educate folks on social distancing. The Eureka Springs I know, and have known for over half a century, would have passed a mask ordinance last week and would be truly making our guests feel safe. All the hand sanitizer in the world can’t replace the effectiveness of everyone wearing a mask.
We need to change the social dynamic in Eureka Springs, and mandating face coverings and social distancing with an ordinance is the right thing to do. I encourage all of you to compel Mayor Berry to do the right thing, and to tell any community “leaders” they are wrong by not supporting a mask ordinance. WAM! Wear a Mask!
Troy Johnson
I look at tourists without masks with disgust and loathing. They are a threat to our health and the well being all of Eureka Springs.
if masks are so important to tourists why arent they wearing masks ? imho tourists favor eureka because there are no masks.