Iowa needs a mask mandate

Iowa reported 878 new COVID-19 cases on Friday. This record high was reached despite Gov. Kim Reynolds' continued rosy declarations that she trusts Iowans to 'do the right thing” and wear masks without a statewide mandate. It's time for the governor to take off her rose-colored glasses and see the truth. People are not wearing masks. And people are not going to wear masks unless there is a law with teeth in it. She needs to see that a mask law is no more an assault on an individual's liberties than other common-sense laws that people have come to accept and respect. These laws were enacted not to protect individuals from themselves, but to protect society as a whole. Drunken driving laws were not intended to protect the drivers (although they do); they protect innocent victims from drunken drivers' reckless behavior. Laws banning smoking in public places were not enacted to protect smokers (although they do); they protect everyone around those smokers who are forced to breathe the smokers' poisons. We need a mask mandate in Iowa. The proof is in black and white. Let's get this virus behind us so we can get on with our businesses, our schools, and our lives.

Sheri Albrecht

Walford