Govenor Kelly’s order to mask up in public is a medically sound response to the state’s rising COVID-19 cases.

We know without question that our financial health is directly related to stemming the tide of this virus and restoring consumer confidence in our businesses’ ability to strictly follow KDHE and CDC recommendations. That ability to restore confidence is greatly aided by disseminating a single, clear message that applies to all businesses and individuals about masking and physical distancing that inspires a sense of shared responsibility and sacrifice.

Our city and county governing bodies have squandered an opportunity to positively affect the behavior and health-both physical and financial of our citizens by not enforcing the governor’s mask order with fines for non-compliance and a media campaign to modify risky pubic behavior.

History confirms for us that leadership in turbulent times is a difficult, usually thankless task that demands vision and moral backbone. I see little evidence of either in the decisions made by Barton’s governing bodies with regard to the masking order.

Jaime Abel

Great Bend