Some resist masking up again

A Dayton Daily News online poll of more than 1,400 people conducted on Wednesday and Thursday found that a slight majority (56%) of area residents say they will not wear masks again indoors in public.

Responses varied with geography. About 70% of respondents from Butler, Clark, Miami and Warren counties said they will not wear masks again. Meanwhile, slightly over half of respondents from Montgomery and Greene counties said they will wear masks.

Residents were conflicted about a potential return of mask wearing. Dayton businesses will remain unaffected for now, however; local health experts say it is unlikely there will be another mask mandate soon which businesses would have to enforce.

The Guidance

In its announcement Tuesday, CDC officials said they made this recommendation based on new information about the delta variant’s greater ability to spread among vaccinated people compared to other previous strains of COVID-19.

The Associated Press reported this week that an internal presentation circulated within the CDC said the delta variant is more transmissible than the viruses that cause Ebola, the common cold, seasonal flu and smallpox and that it as contagious as chickenpox. Vaccines remain highly effective in preventing serious illness, hospitalizations and deaths in vaccinated people, according to the CDC report.

Due in part to the delta variant’s spread, coronavirus cases have been ticking up nationally and locally in recent weeks. Data released Thursday by the Ohio Department of Health put the statewide incident rate at about 77 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents during the past two weeks. Last week, the number was about 46.

The CDC recommended masks be worn in indoor public spaces even for vaccinated people in areas where there is substantial and high transmission rates. Areas with substantial transmission are those reporting 50 to 99.99 cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days. High transmission means a county has reported more than 100 cases.

What are local health experts saying

The CDC’s guidelines are a logical step given all that’s going on and could play an important role in mitigating the spread of the Delta variant, Clark County Health Commissioner Charles Patterson said.

“The Delta variant is a game changer for our country and how we’re dealing with COVID-19,” he stated. “We understand the guidance and we endorse it.”

The CDC’s new recommendations will be communicated to Clark County residents, but a mask mandate will not be put in place in the county right now, per Patterson.

Montgomery County was classified as an area with “substantial” community transmission rates. This label is indicative of a more serious problem, Montgomery County Public Health Public Information Officer Dan Suffoletto said.

“It’s not so much the category name in and of itself, it’s the conditions surrounding the category,” he said. “Presently, in Montgomery County, cases are rising, and they’re rising at a level that is not acceptable.”

While Clark County has evaded the “substantial” label for community transmission to this point, they know they’re not out of the woods yet.

“We’re happy to be lagging behind, but we don’t really think that leaves our community out, we know that there’s still risk here,” Patterson said. “We hope to have people adopt good practices before the risk is higher.”

The county plans on reopening their Coronavirus Testing Evaluation Center, a facility which provides COVID tests for Clark County residents free of charge, in the near future, Patterson said.

The past 16 months have brought forth a myriad of mask-related recommendations of guidelines. Even amidst all this uncertainty, progress will continue to be made in the fight against COVID, Suffoletto said.

“We certainly understand it can be frustrating to everybody,” he stated. “The good news is that the medical professionals and the scientists are continually studying the disease, how it transmits and how people can best protect themselves. It is changing as we go forward based on the newest information.”

Even with case numbers on the rise, Wright State virus expert Dr. Dawn Wooley doesn’t think another mask mandate is the answer given the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine.

”At this point, I’m not in favor of mandating that vaccinated people should be wearing masks again. Certainly, everyone is free to make their own choice,” she said.

Unvaccinated people should continue to wear masks in indoor, crowded public settings where social distancing is not possible, Wooley said. Regarding medical and healthcare settings, it would be best for masks to be worn at all times as a precaution, she continued.

The fact that several Miami Valley counties have been designated as areas of substantial community spread should encourage more people to go through the vaccination process, Wooley said.

“I think that should argue for people who are not vaccinated to seek vaccination. I still think our vaccination rates are too low to prevent community spread,” she said. “If enough people are vaccinated, it really cuts down on transmission rates.”

About 46% of the state’s population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

How community members are responding

Area residents reacted strongly to the possibility of a return of face masks to daily life. Some would wear masks again in hopes of protecting fellow community members, while others aren’t so sure about about whether they work.

Montgomery County resident Heather Heritage lost her grandfather after he contracted COVID-19 and believes it’s critical that members of the Dayton community take every possible step to minimize the virus’s impact, even if that includes masking up again.

“On a personal level, I’ve seen the impacts,” she said. “So, when I think of civic duty, I think about civilization, and what kind of community do we want to have? Do we want to have a country (of) civilians who are only looking out for themselves, or do we want to be in a community that puts others first?”

Leah Trebil of Greene County is a mother of one with a second child on the way. She’s a dental hygienist and has received vaccine administration training as a result of her work with the Ohio Medical Reserve. She’s concerned for the safety of the children of the community and would be willing to start wearing a mask again for their sake.

“These children have a very limited safety net, so I think it’s all of our responsibility to keep them safe and healthy,” she said. “If wearing a mask and social distancing is that key and is that safety net, I think it’s kind of a no-brainer to take those precautions.”

On the other hand, Montgomery County resident Candy Jacques has breathing issues which has made it harder for him to consistently wear a mask. He has received the COVID-19 vaccine and would be much more hesitant to resume the practice of mask wearing, he said.

“I’m sure that there’s some help if I’m in a room of people who are all germy, that it might protect me a little bit, but I really don’t see if f I’ve already been vaccinated why wearing a mask would make a difference,” he said.

Greene County resident Carl Hartman believes that there are political motivations behind widespread mask mandates, and that medical-grade masks such as the N-95 are the only types that could be effective in diminishing the spread of COVID-19.

“Saying if you take a bandana out of your dryer and wrapped (it) around your face, (that) you’re helping other people, it’s a lie,” he said. “It doesn’t do anything to stop COVID in any way, any doctor not tied to a politician will tell you that.”

Cloth face masks are effective in blocking a majority of respiratory droplets that carry the coronavirus and are effective tools in decreasing community spread of COVID-19, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

When Ohio’s mask mandate was in place and case numbers were soaring, Dayton area residents overwhelmingly wore face coverings at stores, a November investigation by this newspaper found. Observations of nearly 2,000 customers at over 100 stores in four counties found that only about 3% of people were not wearing masks.

Since the mask mandate was lifted in June, mask wearing has fallen out of fashion locally. Only 19% of respondents to our online survey this week reported wearing a face mask in public regularly since the mandate was lifted.

What does this mean for local businesses?

Dayton’s local businesses were significantly impacted by the onset of the pandemic. However, the new CDC guidelines are unlikely to result in any major changes in operations, according to Dayton Chamber of Commerce Director of Marketing Holly Allen.

“I would say going forward, businesses will likely continue to make the best decision for their business and for their customers,” Allen said. “So, I don’t see anything changing for most of our businesses in the future.”

With no third-party mandates currently in place, Dayton businesses will continue to adjust their strategies as they see fit, an approach the Chamber supports, Allen stated.

“In any situation, the Chamber of Commerce’s stance is that we would like to see decisions left in the hands of the business owners, so they can do what they think is best for their business, for their employees and for their customers,” she said.

To that end, it is unlikely that the CDC’s new recommendations will bring significant economic change in the Dayton region, Allen said.

“(Businesses) are continuing to move forward, and our economy has been moving forward really well,” she said. “So, I don’t anticipate any changes.”

At this time, Montgomery County Public Health does not plan on issuing a new set of recommendations regarding mask-wearing to any Dayton local businesses. Clark County is currently putting together a notice explaining the new CDC guidelines that will be distributed to the Chamber of Commerce, per Patterson. It will be emphasized that there are currently no plans for a mask requirement to be implemented, Patterson said.