Mayor recommends wearing masks

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  • American flags are placed in remembrance of 9/11 near the clock tower on the SWOSU campus Friday. Josh Jennings/WDN
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As a precautionary measure, Weatherford Mayor Mike Brown has recommended residents wear masks and people support businesses who require masks.

“I understand people are going to do what they want to do, but it’s something we wanted to put out as a reminder for people to follow the guidelines,” Mayor Brown said.

As of Friday, there have been 67,642 total reported COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma, and 125 of the total cases reported have come out of Weatherford. Currently Weatherford has 22 active cases.

The City of Weatherford is encouraging teh use of masks at businesses, such as bars, fitness centers, restaurants, places of worship, retail stores, and healthcare facilities in order to make a better stand at taking on COVID-19. The City of Weatherford has given its support to those businesses.

Children of a certain age and individuals with disabilities who may not be able to use face coverings, are exempt and recognized, as stated by the Center for Disease Control.

When talking with Mayor Brown he talked about Southwestern Oklahoma State University as a reason for the Proclamation. Mayor Brown explained how he wants the students to stay on campus and he felt a recommendation reminded students as well as residents of the city to be safe and wear masks.

“Anything we can do to ensure we don’t have a big uptick (in positive COVID-19 cases) and make sure people feel safe,” Mayor Brown said about the reasoning behind the proclamation.

The CDC recommends that everyone wear face coverings, when not around members of their household. The CDC also recommends the general public should wear face covering in all outdoor settings where there is possible exposure to non-household members, unless 6 feet separates a person and other individuals

Business owners have also been given the right to enforce face coverings and health requirements for individuals who enter their place of business, and have the support of the City of Weatherford. Although that does not give the police the right to escort a person refusing to wear a mask off of the property, according to Chris Cote of the Weatherford Police Department.