First of all, a big thank you to Routt County businesses that require customers and staff to wear masks. When businesses do this, we not only feel safer, we are safer.

Business owners can prescribe reasonable rules for their employees and customers even without a public health mandate. If they have a business open to the public, you have every right to make conditions for entry. “No mask no service” is much the same as “No shirt, no shoes, no service.” Many of us, and I actually think the majority of us, support local business owners and their staff who step up to the plate to keep the community as safe as possible.

I stopped for happy hour at a local restaurant recently, and none of the staff were masked. I won’t be back. As servers move from table to table, not only are they risking their own health, they can become major spreaders without even knowing it.

We already have one of the highest COVID infection rates in the state, and projections are that we haven’t yet reached the peak. The county commissioners chose not to issue a mask mandate, but businesses can move quickly and take the lead.

Many of us have picked up our masks again to provide some protection when we have to go out in public. It doesn’t mean we are not fully vaccinated; we just don’t want to get sick, and a mask provides some protection against COVID.

School has started again, and the children are masked. Check with the teachers and you will find that mask resistance is minimal. The kids seem to be more concerned about protecting their friends and themselves than are the adults.

I strongly encourage local businesses take the lead. Requiring masks and perhaps limiting the number of patrons will help us get through this surge more quickly. Ordering groceries on-line and take out are great services, but they are not a substitute to being comfortable patronizing our favorite local businesses.

Linda Delaney

Steamboat Springs