Every day it becomes clearer that COVID-19 is not diminishing during the summer as we hoped, and that fact is having a devastating impact on our attempts to reopen our economy. California is seeing the third largest summer spike behind only Florida and Texas, which is particularly troubling because Governor Newsom and his health advisers articulated such a careful approach to reopening. No one is quite sure the exact reason California is struggling, but one key factor is community refusal to wear masks—particularly among young people determined to reengage in night life. Partly this is human nature—quarantine fatigue. I know many of my own friends quickly went out to bars without masks and stood elbow to elbow with fellow party people starved for fun, food, and connection. But once it was clear that wearing masks was really our only weapon against the virus—as Governor Newsom made clear by mandating masks in public last week—I don’t understand why there was such a large backlash.

Mask wearing backlash has taken a toll on all of us, especially our retailers. We all want to get back to shopping and to keep our stores open—why is it so controversial to follow a few protocols like socially distancing and placing a mask on our faces? Perhaps we opened too fast without a solid plan— but it’s essential to get back on track so we do not close again. CMA is a digital marketing firm that promotes shopping center marketing programs. Recently we posted Masks are Mandatory on all our clients’ social feeds; there was such a terrible blow back on Instagram, including death threats to those who commented in a positive way to our posts. The thread got so ugly we had to hide the post. We had no idea how angry some of our followers felt about this issue. It is really scary. Do those who object to masks also refuse to wear seat-belts? Do they refuse to wash their hands? I had my mask on today at lunch and a man actually started to taunt me. “So sorry to tell you, I just returned from Wuhan,” he jeered.

Stores are going to continue to struggle with lines and timelines for us to shop until there is a vaccine. Curbside is the new normal, as are other social distancing protocols. Whatever we must do to support retail and restaurants is simply what we must do—including wearing masks. From the messages received on our social feeds it is clear that too many people miss the point—believing that we are not ALL in this together.

“Now is the time to step up and help our local retailers stay strong through this opening. ”

The Washington Post is saying the new normal includes struggling with clinical depression, with a third of all Americans showing signs of depression. With members of family out of work or fearing for their jobs, it would seem that we might find one happy place in the mall. But not if stores and restaurants fear customers will backlash on them and fight about wearing a mask or having to distance themselves. I can only imagine what might happen when a few crazies get together in a bar and become careless when they let their guard down. Now is the time to step up and help our local retailers stay strong through this opening. We have at least a year ahead of us where we need to think about others instead of ourselves. Let us take it slow and stay strong so we can bend the curve and get back to life. We need to stay strong and get our priorities straight before we see more of our retailers struggle and fold under pressure.

Source: Washington Post