As a village, Alfred continues to plan that all people
visiting, living, learning, and earning, will share in the communal response to
protect one another and themselves from corona virus infection. We should all aim to support the efforts at
both Alfred State College and Alfred University to keep the entire valley
healthy. Again the question, if we have
an outbreak like so many other college towns around the US, how many of us will
keep our jobs or our businesses? How
many of us will stay healthy? How many
of us will have access to adequate medical care in the case of an
outbreak? We need a united healthy
community to keep our valley safe and open!
We’re on the right track, especially if everyone: residents, commuters, students, and employees
make the simple effort to maintain social distance and wear a mask when six
feet distance is not possible.
Wearing a mask or keeping a social distance of six feet in
the Village of Alfred, is not asking any more than is already in force by local
businesses as an order by New York State Department of Health. Both campuses have stricter codes for mask
wearing. But for all debate and
discussion our Local Law 2020-1 asks no more than simple common sense behaviors
to protect the community’s economy and social interaction. I’m sure that landlords want tenants
here. I’m sure that students want to
learn and learn on campus. I know that
faculty want to teach. I made a solid
guess that no one wants to give up a job because their employer has to close
down because of an outbreak. Remember,
too, this disease kills, painfully.
Survivors often bear long-term health consequences. Rugged individualism should not be a reason
to destroy the health, living, learning and earning of approximately 5,000
people. Protection may take a few
seconds of street encounters or a few minutes of masking indoors. Of course, the reasonable practices of hand
washing and avoiding large groups also make a difference in stopping the
spread.
There
is a good deal of misinformation on social media. Police in the Village will not be stopping
cars to check to see if masks are being worn by non-family members in the same
vehicle. Police will be stopping cars
that are breaking traffic laws. In those
circumstances, mask laws could also be enforced. The same is true of “busting parties.” That oversight is up to the two
campuses. Police will only enter private
property (as with stopping cars) for probable or reasonable cause.
Frankly put, wearing a mask when social distance cannot be
maintained is a commitment to the community to participate in keeping everyone
healthy. Why is that such a
problem? The US is approaching 200,000
deaths from corona virus infections or complications. Why is keeping our businesses and our fellow
human beings healthy and alive and therefore our businesses, campuses, and
community thriving bringing so much outcry, when it should be a matter of
responsibility and humane respect for all around us? Mask up, please, to save your jobs, save our
community and enjoy the benefits of happy, healthy neighbors and a bustling
village. We are all in this together.
