The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About07-06-20 Public Comment - L. Upson - COVID-19 PrecautionsLisa Upson, JD, MPA 4050 W. Babcock St. Bozeman, Montana 59718 July 5, 2020 Bozeman City Commission Delivered via: agenda@bozeman.net RE: COVID-19 Precautions in the City of Bozeman (and Gallatin County) Dear Bozeman City Commissioners, Thank you for all you do on behalf of Bozeman citizens and businesses, especially during this challenging time. With this letter I am submitting comments for your July 6, 2020 meeting on the topic of COVID-19 precautions. Thank you for taking public comments and thank you to Mayor Mehl for encouraging participation. My primary comments and requests are: 1. Given the data and the fact we are in community spread of COVID-19, we (city/county as well as state) should be “pausing” our re-opening, and/or considering resumption of a stay-at-home directive; and 2. We should be mandating face-coverings or masks in public, even outdoors where physical distancing can’t reasonably occur. We should especially require masks if we are not going to pause re-opening. Everyone, including me, wants our economy to be fully open and humming. We rely on tourism, the hospitality businesses, and the myriad diverse businesses serving the local, state-wide and even national public. However, both the state data and county data support taking drastic action. We are in a state-wide and county surge of the virus. Back on March 26, we had our previous state-wide high of new case counts at 35. More recently, the highest new state-wide daily case count occurred on July 1 (67), followed by June 28 (56), and June 30 (50). Yesterday, July 4, there were 45 new cases state-wide – all well above the March 26 mark, after which Governor Bullock issued a stay-at-home directive. (Source: Montana State Library, MT Maps ArcGIS) In Gallatin County, as of July 4 when we added 11 new cases, we have the most current cases of any county in the state (298), and the second most active cases (76). Gallatin County is essentially mirroring the state- 2 wide trends because we are one of the key, driving counties in the state, as a gateway to Yellowstone and one of the highest county populations. The below graph shows the total accumulated cases in Gallatin County, indicating that our re-opening plans right around Memorial Day were not successful because we immediately started adding new cases again. This is the trend we need to respond to now by requiring face coverings in public during the current surge. (Source: City-County Health Department, Gallatin ArcGIS) In Gallatin County, interestingly, the age group with the highest case count is 20-29 with 85 (the next highest is 30-39 with 63 cases). What this suggests is that younger people are not taking this seriously or are going about their summer time activities without taking sufficient precautions. Younger people may be less susceptible to getting very sick or dying, but they are transmitting the disease to others. Also, it’s important to note that this is not just about death or death rates. People are experiencing ongoing symptoms, even young people, some with serious ongoing injury or disease, including damage to lungs or pulmonary systems. But the biggest risk is that younger people who are asymptomatic or feel “immune” to COVID-19 or a serious resulting illness may be spreading it to others. Most importantly, this virus and pandemic raises a unique issue – no one person can protect themselves, unless they simply stay home and minimize interactions with others. We need others to participate in protecting us; we all rely on one another. This is the main problem with COVID-19 recovery in communities – many people are unwilling to wear masks and stay physically distant because they don’t perceive a threat to themselves. But it’s the others who will bear the burden of this self-serving behavior. This is why we have to mandate mask-wearing – recommendations are not working. Urging people will not work. Only a mandate will work to increase the numbers of people wearing face coverings. We need to all get on the same page in Gallatin County. Just as we have needed a national strategy for the US by the federal government – and are suffering due to the lack thereof – we need a County-wide strategy that brings businesses, tourists, out-of-county travelers, and residents into one cohesive strategy and set of behaviors. Only a mandate can do this. Evidence from clinical and lab studies shows that face coverings reduce the droplets spray when worn over the nose and mouth. (See CDC and MSU Disease Ecology Lab sites for studies.) The Bozeman Disease Ecology Lab states that “The science is converging on the conclusion that masks are effective at reducing transmission. Masks limit transmission by protecting these potential routes of exposure in uninfected people AND preventing the majority of viral shedding from infected people.” (MSU Disease Ecology) We’ve seen mask-wearing work: As of July 1st, 16 states recommend but don’t require residents to wear masks in public. In those states, new coronavirus cases have risen by 84% over the last two weeks. In the 11 states that mandate wearing masks in public, new cases have fallen by 25% over the last two weeks. (Source) 3 Because there is wisdom in this strategy, as of July 2, 2020, at least 18 states require masks to be worn at least in businesses. Two dozen other states have some level of requirement or local mandates. Only four states – Montana being one – have no requirements. (sources: Cnn.com; https://masks4all.co/what-states- require-masks/) It's time for Gallatin County (if not the state) to institute a requirement that people wear masks/face coverings in public to protect Bozeman city and Gallatin County residents and businesses. I urge the Commissioners and the County Health Department to require mask-wearing in public places: First, indoors; and second, outdoors where social distancing is not or cannot occur. Recommendations are not working. Urging people to wear masks will not work (and appears to be a token action). The people who are not wearing masks are unlikely to be swayed by nuanced directives such as being urged. We need consistency in the city and county, from person to person, inside stores, on the sidewalks and in other close outdoor areas, in office buildings – everywhere public, even outside where physical distancing can’t occur. If we have that consistency, people will not make choices about which businesses to support because everyone will be on a level playing field. And travelers and tourists will be less likely to carry/spread the disease locally. Those who are not taking the virus into account around others will be required to, which will benefit not only them, but probably many others. I ask that the Commission follow the data and do what’s right for the local community, including businesses, and mandate face-coverings. At the risk of sounding dramatic and cliché, this is a defining moment for Bozeman and Gallatin County. We are growing rapidly, no doubt experiencing the pressures of state-wide and local political pressures, as well as economic pressures. But I hope that Bozeman and Gallatin County will maintain our strong community response on behalf of citizens, and that this is not the issue where we bow to political and economic pressures over doing what’s right for public health. The pathway to integrating all of these concerns (economy and public health) was and still is an effective shut down. But if we aren’t going to revisit a stay-at-home order, then we need to require that people take the next level of evidence- based precaution: wearing face-coverings in addition to physical distancing. Thank you for considering my comments and requests. Lisa A. Upson; Bozeman, MT