LOGAN – The City of Logan’s educational campaign to promote the wearing of face coverings will begin shortly after the Labor Day holiday, according to city council member Jess Bradfield.
“We will have a friendly, fun, professional and goal-oriented campaign,” Bradfield told other members of the municipal council during their regular meeting on Sept. 1. “It’s coming along and should be up and running by next week.”
The pro-mask educational program is the centerpiece of a kinder, gentler mask policy approved by the city council members on Aug. 18. That policy took effect on Aug. 31, replacing a strict 30-day mask mandate imposed by Mayor Holly Daines on Aug. 1.
Bradfield said that the education program will include public service announcements promoting the wearing of face coverings via print media, radio and social media, plus awards to businesses that encourage their customers to follow COVID-19 precautions.
Like Logan’s original mask mandate, the resolution passed by the city council on Aug. 18 requires local residents and visitors older than the age of five to wear face coverings whenever consistent social distancing of at least six feet is not possible, reasonable or prudent. What distinguishes the council resolution from the previous executive order is the lack on any enforcement provisions.
Although Daines pledged that her mask mandate would not be enforced punitively, her executive order could technically have resulted in either administrative or criminal citations for repeated or flagrant violations.
“A resolution cannot mandate action in the same manner as an ordinance or emergency declaration …” according to Amy Z. Anderson, the chair of the Logan City Council. “We believe that by providing information to our community on how to help prevent the spread (of the coronavirus) – including all activities, including wearing a mask – we can keep schools open, businesses open and our healthcare system able to meet the demands of cases.
“We would hope other cities will also join in encouraging their citizens to do all they can to help.”
Since the city council resolution took effect on Aug. 31, the Bear River Health Department has reported a total of 73 new COVID-19 cases in Cache County, for an average of about 18 per day. But only three county residents are now hospitalized with the disease.
In addition to promoting mask-wearing, Bradfield said that the city’s education initiative will “congratulate the successful effort of Cache Valley residents … to mitigate coronavirus, reward behaviors that continue to lower case counts and recognize and reward businesses that exemplify the behaviors that have led to Cache Valley’s success against the coronavirus.”