Letter from the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, Bay Future, and Great Lakes Bay Region Alliance

We hate the masks and don't want to wear them.

Like many people, wearing a mask bothers us. It fogs our glasses until we can no longer see. It is uncomfortable on hot summer days.

But, we will continue to wear a mask when we visit indoor businesses. The Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, Bay Future, Inc., and Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance represent area businesses and recognize the use of masks is one way we can all support our local economy.  The simple act of mask wearing gives us the best chance to keep our businesses open and functioning by reducing the spread of COVID-19.

We have learned from leading scientists worldwide that one of the simplest ways to fight the COVID-19 virus is from the simple wearing of masks. In fact, a study published in June found that the reduction in COVID-19 cases was reduced by a statistically significant margin when face masks are worn, while another estimates a reduction in COVID-19 deaths of up to 45% through the use of masks.

We will continue to wear masks because we understand that our hard-working business owners and their employees struggled through the past several months when they were unable to work.

Even if you disagree with the new executive order requiring masks, we encourage you to be civil to our local businesses and their employees. If they are required to request that you wear a mask, know that is not by their choice. Respect a business’s right to require shirts, shoes, and masks from their customers.

The best way for all of us to ensure that our businesses remain open, college and high school athletics are played in the fall, and some semblance of a return to normal, is to wear a mask in public.

You enjoy shopping, eating out, and engaging in Bay City’s new social districts?  Wear a mask.

You have a better appreciation for the jobs our teachers do and don’t want to return to homeschooling in the fall?  Wear a mask.

If you disagree, please continue to wear your mask. If you are right, and every scientist is wrong, then your only inconvenience for helping keep our local businesses open is that your glasses were foggier than normal.

We may not be a part of the solution to COVID-19, but we hope you will join us in not being part of the problem.

Ryan Tarrant 
President & CEO                                                                                                    
Bay Area Chamber of Commerce

Trevor Keyes
President & CEO
Bay Future, Inc.

Matt Felan
President & CEO
Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance