Coronavirus is Spreading, Commerce Disagrees on How to Solve it

In a letter Governor Mark Gordon sent out last Thursday, he warned the possibility of another state-wide shutdown. This Tuesday in a meeting with the chambers of commerce, the governor and them didn’t see eye to eye on how specifically to slow the spread of coronavirus.

According to Cowboy State Daily, Kim Devore of Caspers Jonah Bank said, ““In Natrona County, we are a mess, an absolute mess. Our hospital is overrun. Daycares are closing. Businesses are closing. The curve is not stopping. It is going straight up. It seems awful easy to do a mask mandate. We cannot do it on our own, evidently.”

Sheridan Commerce member Dixie Johnson echoed Devore’s statements when discussing face masks being mandated.

Gordon is insistent that masks work now with having tested negative after being with a person for a full day who was positive. He believes them both wearing masks is what caused his negative result.

But there are people who heavily disagree such as Thermoplis resident Shalee Harvey, who owns a newly opened bakery with her husband say that the “quality of life is important. I will not let my business go under because we had to wear a mask. It should not depend on whether the government should say we are open or not.”

Gordon is well aware of masks being a political hot button but also knows that “we have got to get a handle on it. We have to maintain a productive workforce in the state.  We have tried to use flexibility with the counties.  And I have to take the blame for putting the county health officers in such a difficult position.”

To stop the spread, Karlee Applegate, a health care worker in Casper said that convincing people is key. If people won’t follow the basic steps and work harder and together the spread won’t stop saying, “We missed a primary opportunity at the beginning to teach people infection control practices. That is the key to solving this. People have not been taught mask hygiene.”

The conclusion of the meeting came with Gordon saying “we all have rights and we all have responsibilities. We need both. We have to work together or we are sunk together.”