Just to expand on this: Mask mandate removes ambiguity for businesses, and it will tip many organizations from recommending to requiring. An example of this here in Wausau is the YMCA, but I’m sure there are thousands of others. /1 https://twitter.com/robertmentzer/status/1289255481731506177

Now, yes, if someone goes to the YMCA (or whatever, a retail store) and refuses to wear one, it creates a headache for the staff there. Maybe there is a viral video for everyone online can get mad at. But that is just not the way most people behave! /2

In exactly the same way, “mask-free zone” type of businesses can get people stirred up, but they are going to be a minority of businesses. Especially when Walmart and Menards already require masks, no one is going to be mad at a mom-and-pop shop for complying with the mandate. /3

Anyway this is why I think an excessive focus on law enforcement’s role in this (or sheriffs’ declarations that they won’t have a role) is probably misguided. The number of cases that would ever reach that point is just not very big. 4/4