[ July 20, 2020 ] NOTE: City of Jasper Mayor Steve Lawrence is reading of the letter below on the video.

Governor Kemp has been traveling around Georgia advising all of us to wear masks. From the Federal Government, the CDC and the National Institute of Health are also advocating wearing masks. Locally, we have had several questions concerning whether or not our City would be mandating everyone to wear a mask.

And before you say that you will never wear one, let me tell you that COVID does not care. Actually, as a very infectious virus that wants to infect all humans, Covid prefers that you do not!

Mother Nature can be merciless in judgement. Covid does not intend to kill you, all it wants to do is infect you and let you infect others. However, if it does kill you, it will not spend energy in regret either. Covid does not play favorites. Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, liberals, males, females, young, old are all seen as the same, all fair game.

We, however, are Human! We think, feel, care about our families, love our God, our children, our spouses, our friends, and neighbors. Our first instinct is to survive and protect all those around us.

We are at war with an enemy who holds the high ground. Until we have an effective vaccine, our only weapons are isolation, sanitation and wearing masks.

If the welfare of everyone I care about requires I wear a mask, then I will do so. I know that Covid is not human and does not care about the people I love. I do!

Our Governor has not mandated that everyone must wear a mask and has by law tied our local hands. Neither our city nor our county can legally mandate that everyone should wear a mask. Many other states have, and nationally, as those states who have not fall further behind the positive case curve, more states will.

Locally, all we can do is ?Strongly Suggest? you wear a mask when in crowds and in situations where social distancing is difficult.

The choice is yours. To mask, or not to mask? Choose wisely.

Steve Lawrence, Mayor
City of Jasper