Mask Messaging: City Council Discusses The Proper Words To Use

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — The finer points of acceptable mask messaging became a topic of conversation early in last night's (Tuesday, June 16) Manhattan Beach City Council meeting. What exactly should the message be to remind people to wear masks in public if they're not six feet away from others? Should existing Safer-At-Home signage presently hung in the city be changed since people are now out and about? And just what is Los Angeles County's messaging?

These questions and others were brought to the forefront as Council members Steve Napolitano, Nancy Hersman, and Hildy Stern discussed mask messaging with Mayor Pro Tem Suzanne Hadley and Mayor Richard Montgomery Tuesday night. Napolitano brought the subject up under the agenda item about COVID-19 when Montgomery asked for "additional measures or ideas to address COVID-19."

Explaining that he's been receiving emails about mask wearing in public places, Napolitano said, "I think we would serve ourselves well to do some additional [public] reminders [about mask wearing]." He cited The Strand and city parks as places that would benefit from signs reminding people to wear masks and practice social distancing. "As things continue to open, part of the opening is being personally responsible for your own safety and the safety of others," he said. "This thing [COVID-19] isn't going away. The numbers are going up. And it's important to remember that while things are opening, and should be opening, that we also need to maintain social distance whenever possible and also make sure you wear the masks where you're supposed to wear the masks. I see people walking into businesses without them and businesses need to be mindful to tell them [customers] to wear them."

While all council members agreed the city should create signs to remind residents and visitors to wear masks in public, council member Hadley, who frequently advocates for the business community, took aim at current signage she believes is dated, requesting that signs like "We Stay Home For You, Please Stay Home For Us" which has hung from the fire station downtown and "Home is your safe space" hung at Live Oak Park, be taken down. "As we are doing more reopening, I think we look a little bit behind the times." She argued that the messaging coming from Los Angeles County is "no longer stay at home" unless someone is in the identified "vulnerable community."

City Manager Bruce Moe told council, "The messaging still is that you are safer at home, that's still one way to stop the spread of the virus," noting he understood "the desire to get people out of their homes and into the businesses [to spend money].

Council members Nancy Hersman and Hildy Stern also did not agree with Hadley's take. "I believe Dr. [Barbara] Ferrer [LA County Department of Public Health Director] has said that the best thing to do is stay home. That's the best way to reduce the spread of the virus. Yeah, I get it. We want people out and about to go to our restaurants and shops and all, but it is best practice to stay home."

Stern underscored that "it feels like maybe people are forgetting we still have a virus that is out there and it's still spreading and causing illness so there is still at stay-at-home order even thought they are being relaxed in different ways." She said "would be surprised if someone would look at that sign [either of the two Hadley took issue with] and say what's the inconsistency here, am I supposed to be home or supposed to not be." She agreed that reminding people to wear masks while out in public "is a very good idea. It is a good practice for each other to be reminded that we do impact each other and we should be remembering that we're still in this place."

For his part, Napolitano said he didn't "want to debate on what the message should be. Regardless of that, we just need to remind them [the public to wear masks]." His suggestion to have staff work on the messaging and bring it back to council for review ultimately prevailed. His main point was that the public messaging on mask wearing needed to be completed and signage put out in prime locations in the city.

As council wove its way through their individual angles, with each member making comments, the vibe grew a bit more direct. Napolitano attempted to get to the heart of the matter, at one point suggesting the signs could read, "Stay Away From Me and Cover Up," "Protect Others. Wear a Mask." and "Be Safe. Wear A Face Cover." He and Montgomery both pointed out people are required to wear masks in stores and other instances as ordered by LA County. Montgomery said many businesses, like Target, Ralphs and Vons, have signs outside their doors telling people they need to wear masks. He suggested all businesses should follow suit. Council members Hadley and Montgomery pointed out that people should tell others to wear a mask if they weren't following protocol. She talked about the dog parks, which she advocated for opening, and how if people in the dog park weren't wearing masks, those that were should tell the non-mask wearers to don a mask and tell the non-mask wearers they were jeopardizing having the dog park open. Montgomery noted that if a shopper in a store saw others not wearing masks, they should tell the store employees or manager they felt uncomfortable shopping there.

Hadley lobbied for taking existing banners down. "I would love a show of hands to take the [existing] safer at home banners down. People are texting me saying the County now is saying 'safer at work and in the community.' The message is completely changed. The message is not staying at home," she said. "The message is being outdoors, the beach and The Strand and the parks and wearing facial coverings in close proximity to others and absolutely in stores." Hadley noted that when she works in the public library they wear masks all day.

But she was insistent that the messaging had changed and new signs need to reflect that. "The message from the County is 'safer at work and in the community.' That's a quote. It's not safer at home. I feel like the [existing] banners make it look like it's old news, like it's a three-day-old newspaper, a 30-day ago banner. So we can't on the one hand start to open and step up and tell people to stay home. I think we look ridiculous."

She added, "I totally agree about signage. Facial coverings, I'm good with that. But the orders are no longer stay at home." Napolitano wanted to avoid being too vague and "too nice" as happened with signage at Polliwog Park recently during COVID-19 closings in Manhattan Beach. Moe ultimately said city staff will take care of the messaging and understanding council's desires.