South Dakota is open and has no mask mandate. Florida is open and has no mask mandate. Texas is open and lifting mask mandates. Mississippi is open and lifting mask mandates.
Alabama is basically open. We have weathered the storm economically pretty well because of that, and it is time to end the mask mandate and open up all the way.
Why? The mask mandate is not something you can point to as a successful mitigation effort.
Lockdown states and states with mask mandates have not fared better than states without them.
When Governor Kay Ivey put Alabama’s mask mandate in place on July 16, we had 1,933 cases and 29 deaths that day, according to BamaTracker.com.
Two weeks later (July 30): 1,923 cases and 44 deaths
One month later (August 16): 722 cases and 28 deaths
Six months later (January 16): 2,358 cases and 56 deaths
It just didn’t have the impact we thought it would, and it is time to end it.
But remember — even if she does end the mandate, you can wear your mask in stores and at work.
No one is going to stop you. We should all do what we can to limit our exposure to the virus and what we feel is right.
And if you want the masks gone, but you want to go into a store that wants you to wear a mask, you should. Private property rights should protect people from the state and from people that the owners and management don’t want in their stores.
This includes people who won’t wear a mask.
And yes, I supported the initial lockdown and the mask mandate. It was the prudent thing to do, and we now have much more information.
It is time to use that information.
Governor Ivey should reopen the state 100% and end the mask mandate.
As for Alabama’s citizens, we should spend the end of this pandemic learning how to stop being terrible to each other.
Pro-maskers and anti-maskers are fighting an obnoxious war both online and in-person that a majority of people want no part in.
We want to live our lives as normal as possible and be left alone.
Stop being rude.
Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 AM weekdays on WVNN and on Talk 99.5 from 10AM to noon.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.