Columbia’s face mask law puts the lives of people first. Why would anyone oppose it?

I am writing in response to the July 1 op-ed — titled “Poor city leadership is hurting businesses in Columbia” — that was co-authored by Joe Taylor and Peter Brown.

I didn’t have to read the author descriptions at the end of the op-ed to know that these two men are only concerned about the economics of the highly contagious coronavirus, and not the public safety or health of the people who live here in Columbia.

What about people?

In their op-ed, Taylor and Brown criticized “arbitrary curfews” and “emergency rules” in Columbia that “weren’t enacted until several days later.”

They complained about young people having to go to Irmo for nighttime fun.

And they even suggested that after we’ve isolated all of the old folks, we could just let the virus “run its course.”

Really?

Taylor and Brown should tell that to the families of young people who have died — or to the teenagers who brought COVID-19 home to grandparents or friends with medically compromising conditions.

Sorry, but economics should not be the first concern in a pandemic! How about protecting all the people first?

Where is McMaster?

Health professionals have urged again and again that everyone should wear a mask and distance themselves from others, but where is Gov. Henry McMaster when it comes to mandating these rules?

McMaster has resembled Pontius Pilate: he has washed his hands of responsibility and left it to cities and counties across the state to do his work.

Yet people work, play and travel across cities and counties constantly, so any city ordinance is bound to be arbitrary because it stops at the city limits.

If there were a federal plan, we could have consistent guidelines that are customized to the needs of different areas of the country — and that are also based on science rather than politics. But because we have an incompetent president we don’t have a federal plan in place, which is why we need a state policy.

Unfortunately, however, we can’t have a state policy either.

And why not?

Because our governor has decided to play politics instead of guarding the lives of his constituents.

Blatant chutzpah

Yet Taylor and Brown have the chutzpah to complain that the attempts of Columbia’s leaders to keep the public safe is interfering with commerce. But if they think it’s bad now, they should just wait until there are no people who can buy anything — or who are simply too afraid to even go out and try!

The economy depends on people, not vice versa.

Testing, contact tracing, quarantining, wearing face masks and practicing social distancing are all needed to keep COVID-19 at bay until we can finally find a vaccine. That’s the only way that we can “live with it” — as Taylor and Brown put it — without thousands more dying from this virus.

Unfortunately, these guys don’t seem to care about that — just as long as the local bars can stay open!

Patrica Mohr resides in Columbia.

This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 6:01 PM.