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BELLEFONTE -- The Centre County Board of Commissioners want to keep residents safe and healthy.
With COVID-19 numbers rising throughout the Commonwealth, the commissioners on Tuesday unanimously passed Resolution No. 16 of 2020, which endorses masking for all residents in the county. The resolution, which was part of this week's consent agenda, was re-worded from last week's agenda, which "encouraged those who live, work, learn and play in Centre County to continue mask wearing to save lives and bring back jobs." In the resolution that passed, the wording was changed from "encouraging" to "endorses."
"We are seeing more and more states that are going backwards and reversing some of their re-opening strategies," said chair of the BOC, Michael Pipe. "The last thing we want in Centre County … is to shut down or go backwards. As other Pennsylvania counties start to shut down and go backwards, it's eventually going to have impact on us from an economic basis, from a visitor standpoint, from a tourism standpoint and from the university's standpoint as well. We need to be cognizant of here's what we're doing and why we're doing it."
Centre County has done a relatively good job of flattening the curve, which is why it was one of the first counties to move to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's "green" phase. Mask wearing, Pipe said, has aided in Centre County's low numbers.
"Thank you for wearing a mask. We really, really appreciate it," Pipe told the residents of Centre County. "It has continued to help to keep our cases low, keep our people safe and keep our economy open."
Mask wearing has become a political statement of sorts, but that doesn't seem to be an issue on the board, which is comprised of two Democrats and one Republican.
Republican Steve Dershem also encouraged county residents to continue to wear a mask when out in public.
"I don't think anyone really relishes the idea of wearing a mask. It's sometimes very difficult, it's inconvenient, but there are values to doing to do it. I think recognizing what the Governor is trying to do indicates that we're serious. We're serious about making sure that our businesses stay open and our families stay safe," Dershem said. "This resolution, as it stands, is educational and awareness based … our job is to be cheerleaders, if you will, to the situation."
Dershem said that he realizes the value of wearing a mask in public. He cited some states where COVID-19 numbers are skyrocketing as a reason to simply wear the mask.
"You saw it in Texas, you're seeing it in Arizona, you see it throughout the southwest. We don't want that (to) return here in Pennsylvania. I think we like the idea that being in the green stage gives us a little bit more flexibility and gives our businesses the opportunity to function. I would not want to go back to March when things were shut down and we were isolated in our homes," he said.
Commissioner Mark Higgins urged all residents to wear masks when out in public.
"If the scientific community is correct -- and they usually are -- wearing masks is going to save tens of thousands of lives," Higgins said. "Even if you catch COVID and you're asymptomatic, it can appear that it does still damage certain body organs and body functions. If the scientific community is incorrect, we've had the minor inconvenience of having to wear something over our face … for a couple of hours a day."
On Tuesday, Pennsylvania added nearly 1,000 cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 91,299. The Pennsylvania Department of Health said that 77 percent of those who had the coronavirus have recovered.
The Board of Commissioners will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 14 at the Willowbank Building in Bellefonte. It will be televised live by C-NET.