Face masks aren’t going away in Moscow

Moscow’s face mask order has ended, but some businesses and Gritman Medical Center continue to require face coverings to be worn.

The Moscow City Council on Monday night lifted its public health emergency order, which had been in effect since July 1. The order mandated face coverings be worn in public where 6-foot social distancing could not be maintained with nonhousehold members. The order was set to expire June 9.

Under the resolution passed Monday, the mayor and City Council strongly encouraged people that have not been vaccinated to continue to wear masks when distancing is an issue, and businesses can still require patrons to wear masks.

Lisa Bafus, co-owner of Cafe Artista, said employees and customers will still be required to wear face coverings at her downtown Moscow coffee shop.

Bafus said she felt it was too soon for the City Council to terminate the mask order. She said the City Council and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are “jumping the gun,” adding that not enough people are fully vaccinated to stop wearing masks.

“I can understand where the City Council is coming from, but it’s still very frustrating for us to have to play mask police again,” Bafus said.

George Skandalos, co-owner of Maialina Pizzeria Napoletana, said he asks that customers who are not fully vaccinated wear a mask at his downtown Moscow restaurant. Employees who are not fully vaccinated will be required to wear a mask, he said.

“The goal wasn’t to wear masks forever,” Skandalos said. “The goal was to get to a point where we were safe to go around not wearing masks because people were vaccinated and by and large were not transmitting COVID.”

Like Skandalos, Brandy Sullivan, co-owner of One World Cafe and a Moscow city councilor, said her downtown Moscow coffee shop is requesting customers who are not fully vaccinated wear a mask. Employees who are not fully vaccinated will be required to wear a mask, she said.

Sullivan said her business has been following the CDC’s guidelines from the start, implementing a face mask requirement before the city’s order.

At Gritman’s facilities, visitors and staff are still required to wear face masks regardless of vaccination status. Its website says the hospital follows the CDC guidelines and recommendations that face masks are required in health care facilities.

Gritman Chief Medical Officer John Brown said hospitals are concentrated areas of people vulnerable to COVID-19, which is why masks are still needed.

“Hospitals have to be more protected,” Brown said. “That’s why we clean them so thoroughly, that’s why we keep everything so sterile, that’s why healthcare workers wash their hands like mad, that’s why we wear special equipment to help prevent spreading infection from patient to patient. Hospitals are just places where you need to be extra cautious and those cautions aren’t always needed in other places in life.”

Peter Mundt, Gritman director of community relations and marketing, said while masks protect patients, they are also important in helping to protect staff. He said staff who are exposed to the virus are forced to isolate, which limits patients’ access to care.

The CDC says fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance themselves in indoor and outdoor settings.

Brown said he was comfortable with the city lifting the mask order for outdoor activities but was neutral on indoor activities.

“I can confidently say that the mask order really helped our facilities from being overwhelmed,” Brown said. “We were never at the point where we were completely desperate. We had some times where we were pretty close to that, but for the most part we were able to keep the expected standards of care going for all patients with all conditions despite the influx of COVID patients through our emergency department and inpatient services.”

Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.