#2BFayetteville

A message from our Chamber President Most all of us are familiar with the question, "are we there yet?" Often that question it is followed by "how long is it going to take?" This is the position in which we now find ourselves when trying to answer the question, "when can I take this dang mask off?" or "When do I need to quit worrying about hand washing and social distancing?" To some the answer seems obvious. We can stop March 31, 2021 when the statewide mask mandate is lifted. To others it seems permission has already been given because we are providing vaccine, have eliminated dining restrictions and increased the limits on the size of crowds. Yet we still find many of our neigh- bors and friends operating their retail, service and academic/athletic events limiting the size of crowds, requiring masks, and cleaning their entire venue periodically during their service hours. Many have made this decision to continue to survive as a business. Our schools and university are doing this to stay open for students. Covid-19 closings have been more than an interruption to our schools and businesses, and for them hope and patience sometimes wears thin. We must admit that we can find the answer we want to justify not wearing a mask or social distanc- ing and hand washing guidelines. The real question is how does our decision affect our community? Your Chamber is urging that we all continue to wear our masks, social distance and wash our hands just a bit longer. We are urging continuing these practices until August 1st. That 120-day period will provide enough time for everyone who wants a vaccination to acquire one. It will allow all our Fayetteville businesses and institutions to continue to operate without interruption while preparing for what we expect to be a surge of guests, visitors and our own citizens enjoying a beautiful fall in our incredible Fayetteville. Your Chamber asks you to consider not only your personal preference, but also our entire community, as you decide whether to require masks and follow social distancing guidelines just a bit longer. We are still all in this together, so let's do all we can to keep the downward Covid trend we currently see, so we can all get back to some semblance of "normal" without another Covid surge or injury to our businesses or community. Steve Clark, IOM President & CEO There Yet? Are We 6

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