Board of Aldermen 5-21-2020 Page 15
President Wilshire
We did.
Alderman Caron
OK thank you.
O-20-018
Endorsers: Mayor Jim Donchess
Alderwoman-at-Large Shoshanna Kelly
Alderman Richard A. Dowd
Alderman Thomas Lopez
Alderman Linda Harriott-Gathright
Alderman Jan Schmidt
Alderman Patricia Klee
Alderman June M. Caron
RELATIVE TO FACE COVERINGS
Given its second reading
MOTION BY ALDERMAN LOPEZ FOR FINAL PASSAGE OF O-20-018 BY ROLL CALL
ON THE QUESTION
Alderman Lopez
And I'd like to speak to it.
President Wilshire
Alderman Lopez?
Alderman Lopez
So | proposed something similar to this or at least | asked the question as to whether there were any legal
reasons we wouldn't be able to augment our Public Health expectations that we, for example, wear shirts
and shoes in restaurants prior to the Governor’s Orders to open within phases. | had briefly suggested that
maybe we should wait and see what he did thinking that he would likely include some sort of plan for
wearing protective equipment with his phasing and then that didn’t turn out to be the case at all. So my
concerns originally were that we were just hearing more and more reports that business owners were being
blamed for trying to take precautions to protect their patients. People were wiping their noses on
employee’s shirts and generally abusing them. And | felt like this was a role where the City needs to take a
leadership role in Public Health Protections because that is where we are elected and we have the access
to planning and staff to implement it in a reasonable way. So | wanted to make sure that the City was an
active participant in this strong public health standpoint.
More recently with the phased opening and steps that we have been taking, it has become evident that we
are not going to go right back to the way things were. We are going to have to start making changes and
kind of recognize that there is the risk of the COVID-19 Epidemic but there is also the necessity of
maintaining an economy and helping small businesses achieve the success that they need. So | think that
this is a crucial step in all of that because businesses can’t afford to lose employees due to an outbreak.
We can’t afford to have manufacturing plants or stores closed because multiple employees were suddenly
caught with COVID-19, whether or not its fatal, they are still are out sick. So there is that element of risk
and then additionally the danger to our senior residents. Nashua has a large senior population and while
