[Summit] Masks and social distancing?

[Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur]

The executive order does say that masks are not needed when social 
distancing is not an issue, but that does not exempt walking outside. 
The executive order applies to "any person who is in a place open to the 
public, whether indoors or outdoors." Many parts of our neighborhood are 
busy with pedestrians and will get busier as the weather continues to 
improve. Two people passing each other on a sidewalk are within 6 feet 
of each other. So unless you can guarantee that you are not going to 
ever pass anyone, you would need to wear a mask. Walking around fully 
masked over the past few weeks I have generally found that I have to 
walk in the street to avoid being within 6 feet of unmasked people. For 
those who have front porches that are close to the sidewalk, their 
ability to use and enjoy their own property is being limited by the fact 
that others refuse to mask while walking within six feet of a porch. The 
exemption is only for circumstances in which you can "easily, 
continuously, and measurably maintain at least six (6) feet of distance 
from other people" so if you will even temporarily be near others you 
need to keep the mask on.

So yes, social distancing is an issue while walking outside in our 
neighborhood, and yes, you need to wear the mask while walking in the 
neighborhood. It incumbent upon all of us to care about the fact that we 
live in a community and to protect each other, and that's what 
mask-wearing does. And if you don't want to wear a mask, that's 
fine--just don't enter our shared public space. It is inconceivable to 
me that so many members of our community cannot bring themselves to take 
this simple measure that makes all of us safer.
--Mikaila

On 5/6/2020 3:18 PM, R P wrote:
> Or perhaps a strong understanding of relative risk. Per the 5/5 
> executive order, face coverings are not required where social 
> distancing is not an issue, such as walking outside.
>
> The governor's executive order on face coverings is here: 
> https://governor.ri.gov/documents/orders/Executive-Order-20-30.pdf
>
>
> On Wed, May 6, 2020 at 3:11 PM pete1188 <pete1188 at cox.net 
> <mailto:pete1188 at cox.net>> wrote:
>
>     Hi all,
>
>     Does anyone know the "rule" for masks and running -- i.e. are you
>     required to use them? I realize no one does, but I was just curious.
>
>     I was just on an hour+ walk with my son around Hope Street and I'd
>     say only 5-6 people walking had masks. Very low compliance on the
>     east side from what I observe.
>
>     Thanks
>
>
>     Sent on my Boost Mobile Samsung Galaxy S7.
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     Summit mailing list
>     Summit at sna.providence.ri.us <mailto:Summit at sna.providence.ri.us>
>     http://sna.providence.ri.us/mailman/listinfo/summit_sna.providence.ri.us
>     SNA Website: http://sna.providence.ri.us/
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Summit mailing list
> Summit at sna.providence.ri.us
> http://sna.providence.ri.us/mailman/listinfo/summit_sna.providence.ri.us
> SNA Website: http://sna.providence.ri.us/


-- 
Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur
mmlarthur at gmail.com <mailto:mmlarthur at gmail.com>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://sna.providence.ri.us/pipermail/summit_sna.providence.ri.us/attachments/20200506/22d537de/attachment.htm>