Why don’t businesses insist on masks?

I realize that with a byelection (or possible full election) coming up it would be political suicide to tell Islanders to wear masks indoors, although this is strongly recommended by Dr. Heather Morrison, our chief public health officer.

My wearing a mask is not only for my protection, but also as a mark of caring for you, my fellow Islanders. I know, we have little or no COVID-19 here on P.E.I., through careful planning, and following simple health rules like washing hands, social distancing — and wearing masks indoors. These are a nuisance, but because of these, we are literally in the safest place in the world.

In every society there is an element of “it can’t happen to me”. Why not you? Until you, or someone close to you faces something serious — like cancer, heart attacks, diabetes, mental illness — the list is endless — you realize that it is not always someone else. You are the “someone else” for other people.

I do have one simple question. Why are store employees still allowed to go mask-free? I meet between zero and possibly 10 people a day. And I

wear a mask indoors at public places. Many store employees meet several hundred people a day, without masks. To date, only Walmart and

Superstores have announced a mask policy. We had never, ever bought groceries at Walmart, but we did last week. I have asked managers of

many stores and coffee shops (that I now refuse to patronize) about this, and they invariably answer, “Because it’s not mandatory.” This is a large potential health risk. I try to shop locally, but lately have turned more and more to Amazon, E-bay, etc. Simply put: it is safer. But when I do, local businesses lose out, and the province does not receive any tax dollars from these transactions.

I know that my family is not the only one to turn to the internet for products. It is more convenient, as goods are delivered to my door, and my family is actually safer from COVID-19. Perhaps we will never go back to shopping locally.

So, a simple message to business owners and managers: Get your act together if you want local people to come to you. As the old saying goes, "You are cutting off your nose to spite your face.”