Little fields questions about masks during weekly call

Recent protests regarding Moscow’s face mask requirement were a topic of conversation Tuesday during Gov. Brad Little’s regular COVID-19 teleconference with AARP Idaho.

The weekly meetings give people across the state an opportunity to call in and ask questions about the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Little has been participating in the sessions since March.

Face mask requirements were a popular topic Tuesday, with some people questioning why they aren’t mandated statewide and others suggesting even local face mask ordinances go too far.

A caller identified as Maryanne from Clearwater County wanted to know who had the authority to require that face masks be worn.

“I think this is absurd,” she said. “Those poor people in Moscow, attending their church services in a parking lot and being arrested. That’s totally ridiculous. Who’s going to bail them out?”

Three people were arrested and two others cited for possible violations of Moscow’s face mask ordinance last week during a psalm singing event at Moscow City Hall. The event was sponsored by Moscow’s Christ Church, which is reportedly gathering signatures for a possible voter referendum on the ordinance.

Little said he didn’t think anyone who was arrested at the protest was still in jail.

“I think they’ve had three similar events,” he said. “I’m glad they’re allowing them to enjoy their religious liberty and not be arrested. I think the problem has been alleviated.”

The Moscow ordinance requires people to wear face coverings in situations where they can’t social distance from non-household members.

Another caller identified as Jim from Nampa wondered why any coronavirus-related restrictions are still in place.

“When this first started, we were supposed to shut down for two weeks to give industry time to tool-up to make ventilators and give hospitals time to plan for increased patients,” he said. “I want to know what happened. We’ve been here for several months. Why? Why not just let everyone get the disease and get over it, or let the hospitals take care of those who need it and cure them?”

Little said maintaining adequate hospital capacity, both for treating COVID-19 patients and anyone else who needs hospital care, has been his primary focus throughout the pandemic.

“We know that one in three Idaho citizens is at risk of becoming really sick (from the coronavirus),” he said. “We’re also learning that some healthy people can have long-term health issues, and we don’t have a lot of hospital capacity in the state.”

Three other callers expressed concerns that the state wasn’t doing enough to control the virus.

“Why haven’t we mandated wearing a mask?” asked a caller identified as Craig from Twin Falls. “Why doesn’t someone have the political backbone to do that? We know that masks and social distancing have mitigated the spread of this virus. I’ve been holed up the last seven months. Every time I have to go to town for a doctor’s appointment, I don’t see anyone wearing a mask. We (the elderly) are the most susceptible to this disease, but no one does anything. No one cares.”

Little said he thinks most Idahoans do care and are doing their part, but he also resisted the idea of a statewide mandate.

“I would remind you, for a long time over half our counties had fewer than 10 cases per 100,000, which is a very low spread,” he said. “You can understand why some of those communities with very little spread (would oppose) a mask mandate. The mandate is problematic if the community doesn’t believe in it, and we’re a local-control state.”

Despite Tuesday’s evidence of “COVID fatigue” on both sides of the mask issue, Little noted that Idaho is managing the pandemic fairly well, even if things aren’t completely back to normal.

“We’re the No. 1 state for economic momentum, the No. 1 state for fiscal solvency. We’re No. 1 for personal income growth, third-best for unemployment,” he said. “So we have a lot to be proud of. We have some cities and health districts where there are restrictions, but for the most part, the state is wide open.”

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.