A group of over 70 Milwaukee businesses has banded together and written a letter to Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee Common Council President Cavalier Johnson calling on them to implement a citywide policy requiring that masks be worn in public spaces including restaurants, museums, theaters and stores.
The title of the letter is "Please Don't Let Us Become Florida or Texas: We Ask You To Please Issue a Mandatory Mask Rule for Milwaukee NOW!"
When worn properly over the nose and mouth, facial coverings can stop the spread of the respiratory droplets that carry the virus that causes COVID-19. The respiratory droplets of an infected person disperses the virus when they cough, talk, sneeze or breath. Facial coverings stop that spread at the nose and mouth.
Among the businesses that signed the letter are Fiserv Forum, Bartolotta Restaurants, Colectivo Coffee, Lowlands Group, Pabst Theater Group and others.
Without a city mandate, businesses say that many customers may not be compliant with their own mask requirements, resulting in a loss of business and “the risk is much higher for new outbreaks, which could result in new stay-at-home orders that put us out of business for good.”
You can read the full letter below:
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Dear Mayor Tom Barrett and Common Council President Cavalier Johnson,
We call on you, as the City of Milwaukee's top elected officials, to immediately require the wearing of masks by all patrons and workers in city public spaces, including stores, theaters, museums, and restaurants and bars (while not consuming food or beverage).
We are the owners and promoters of Milwaukee businesses serving more than a million customers a year and employing tens of thousands of people, all whose health and safety deserve the protection of a mask requirement. A city mask rule is also critical to the survival of our businesses.
Currently more than 20 states require face masks be worn, including nearby Illinois.
Hundreds of cities in America have mandated that face masks must be worn in public, including Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, St. Petersburg, the Florida Keys, Raleigh, Denver, Boulder, Houston, Kansas City and Charleston.
Medical professionals, health officials and scientists say that wearing face masks is vital to helping prevent the spread of the deadly Covid- 19 and is the #1 preventative measure we can take besides staying at home. Masks help prevent a wearer from infecting others. But mask wearers - including our customers and employees - are not protected if others don't wear masks.
Without a city mandate, many customers will not be willing to come to our businesses. Compliance with requirements a business may establish will be inconsistent at best. Our employees can't be assured of a safe work environment. And the risk is much higher for new outbreaks, which could result in new stay- at- home orders that put us out of business for good.
Taking this measure will prevent us from becoming like Houston or Florida. These areas opened up without public masking policies and have seen spikes in cases and even regressions in re-opening. With Wisconsin seeing an increase in Covid- 19 cases, now is the time to act. Let's have Milwaukee shine, and truly become an example for our state and the nation of how to do this safely.
This is our city. People deserve to be safe here when supporting and working at Milwaukee businesses. We urge you to promptly put a mask order in place along with physical distancing requirements, until health professionals say these practices are no longer needed.
The group has also launched a Change.org petition that can be viewed here.
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