To mask or not to mask? Longboaters cover the possibilities

While waiting in line, walking along Gulf of Mexico Drive or chatting with friends, wearing a mask or not is a choice more and more Longboaters are facing. 

On one hand, you can't be too careful, you'd be following a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and you'd be following the lead of some of the island's most popular businesses.

On the other, there's a lot of fresh air and space out there, especially on Longboat Key. 

Around town, we've seen all sorts of masks: hand-made or store-bought; elastic or drawstring; fancy, whimsical, stylish or nothing-but-business. 

The Longboat Observer spent last week chatting with residents, businesses and visitors about the now-essential question: to mask or not to mask?

To mask

Publix Super Markets, the biggest retailer on the island, beginning on April 20 required its employees to "wear face coverings for the duration of this national emergency.” The chain also set up barriers between shoppers and cashiers and set up curbside pickup at the town's urging. 

Harry’s Continental Kitchens has taken similar preventive measures. Workers who directly interact with customers are required to wear masks and gloves. There is Plexiglass between cashiers and customers. Orders and credit card information are taken over the phone.

The establishment also recommends customers wear masks and gloves, while also providing them gloves and hand sanitizer.

Harry’s deli and corner store are open after closing for a few weeks to ensure the safety of the staff. Harry’s main restaurant plans to begin curbside service for breakfast, brunch and lunch starting Wednesday, manager Hal Christensen said.

Christensen estimated Harry’s has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars during high season. He stressed the importance of restaurants providing high-quality service for takeout or to-go orders even once they’re allowed to reopen because of the restrictions they will likely face.

Lynn Larson, president of the Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key, wears a mask when in “closed places” such as doctor’s offices or grocery stores. She’s also made about 50 simple, yet colorful, cloth masks for friends, neighbors and anyone who asks for them. 

“I do not want to make light of the seriousness of this problem but thought it would be fun to have people decorate their masks,” Larson said. “They could add personality to them.”

She’s also made several more complex masks for first responders, which have pockets to hold a filter and wire to better fit around the nose, and Larson is making them with straps to secure them around the head rather than just elastic, as fire chief Paul Dezzi suggested. 

Longboat Police Chief Pete Cumming said his department takes into consideration the importance of social distancing when interacting with people.

“When we're making contact with people, we want to be conscious of touching and passing articles back and forth, like driver's licenses and so forth,” Cumming said.

Cumming said officers’ jobs haven’t changed much with more people wearing masks in public.

“Any kind of facial covering is going to get our attention. Of course, now it's so common, we're just dealing with it,” Cumming said. “I wouldn't say that it really offers a challenge to us right now. We're becoming accustomed to it, but initially, you look at the individual and I think what we're triggering on now more than anything, is conduct and just behavior.”

Not to mask

As masks become fairly ubiquitous in stores and other public facilities, it’s not the norm to wear it while exercising. Some who have warmed up to masks draw the line at simple outdoor endeavors, like exercising, dog walking or getting the mail. 

Larson said she makes sure to keep more than six feet away from others when she steps outside. 

“When I take Muffin the dog for a walk, it is not crowded and I enjoy the fresh air,” Larson said. 

She and husband Jim also do not wear masks in the car when picking up takeout, instead writing their name on a piece of paper when they arrive and opening the back hatch from inside the car for fully contactless pickup. 

Kirt Bopp wears a mask and gloves when taking care of the necessary shopping, though when he and wife Mary Ann walk along Gulf of Mexico Drive, Bopp estimated that far more people go mask-less than covered. 

“When we walk we give ourselves a treat of not wearing a mask,” Bopp said.

Reporter Nat Kaemmerer contributed to this story.