It was announced on Monday by Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz that a four-phase approach, starting with a mask mandate for all indoor public locations in the county, will start Tuesday morning at 6 a.m. EST.
Starting Tuesday morning, anyone aged two and older must wear a mask at all indoor public locations in Erie County. The list of locations include, among many facilities, all bars and restaurants, grocery stores, gyms and fitness centers, hotels and banks, and hair salons.
"We know the greatest way to reduce transmission is to wear a mask," Poloncarz said during his COVID-19 press briefing on Monday. "We also know the best way to prevent COVID-19 illness and serious illness is to get vaccinated. We need people to get vaccinated, and we need people to wear a mask to prevent further transmission. If we do that, we'll never go into Phase 2. But we have proposed a phase system to review and determine if we need to take greater action."
One business that was a point of emphasis on Monday during Poloncarz's press conference was the restaurant industry. The Erie County Executive recognized the importance to talking to restauranteurs in the area and gauging what was necessary in the mandates to make sure it would not have a drastic affect on business.
"What [restauranteurs] said is if we go immediately to vaccine mandates or restrictions on capacity, it will devastate, it will decimate the area restaurant industry," Poloncarz said. "They're just getting back on their feet, they have the most important season coming up - the holiday season. They all support a mask mandate."
With the mask mandate taking place on Tuesday, Poloncarz is hoping the collective community will come together to not only protect the safety of others, but also continue to support local businesses and ensure they don't fall on hard times going forward.
"We do not want to implement vaccine mandates for restaurants, bars and alike. We do not want to implement capacity restrictions. Why? Because we want to protect our local business community. But we also have to protect lives, so the first step is a mask mandate," Poloncarz explained.
"We don't want to have capacity restrictions, and we don't want to limit the amount of people that can actually go into a restaurant because of vaccine mandates. But those are options we have in the future and will implement if we have no choice."
So how do local business owners feel about the return of a mask mandate in their restaurants? For David Schutte, President of Schutte Hospitality Group, he anticipated this was a decision coming sooner rather than later.
"I certainly am somewhat disappointed. Not sure it's in the best interest of public safety, in my opinion, to require mask mandates, but I know there's different approaches around the country, and even in our own state," Schutte said shortly after the announcement made by Erie County.
"It's not unknown news that this was coming. We got vaccinations knowing it would limit the effect of, the harshness of COVID-19 and we wouldn't be in the hospital or possibly dying. But to have it go backwards just because we're going COVID-19 throughout the area doesn't mean we're all going to be dying. It's kind of sad, in my opinion."
Meanwhile, co-owner of the Glen Park Tavern, Ellie Grenauer is concerned that with the mask mandate back in place, some customers are not going to be willing to comply. That will then fall back on her staff to make sure people coming into their restaurant are complying with the county mandate.
"I'm also nervous we're going to go down a slippery slope and go back to the next phase, [which] I believe was mandatory vaccinations for indoor dining... It's a little frightening," Grenauer said after Erie County's announcement on Monday.
"I don't know if the restaurant business, in general, can handle those restrictions again. So I guess I'm kind of just asking everyone out there, please, let's just do this and put an end to anymore restrictions being put on our local businesses."
As the mask mandate is set to go into effect on Tuesday, both Schutte and Grenauer are hopeful that people will not be deterred from going out for a night on the town, or taking some time to enjoy themselves for a quick bite to eat.
"It's just wearing it in to the restaurant and then take it off when you're seated at the table," Schutte said. "I'm hopeful that people will still continue to go out like they have been. I am concerned, though, that it definitely would possible curb the appetite a little bit, if you will, the people's desires to go out and having to wear that mask again. I mean, isn't that one of the reasons we got the vaccinations so we didn't have to wear the mask? Seems like we're going backwards."
"I believe the people that will come out will be those that are vaccinated and don't feel that they are in danger," Grenauer added. "Our takeout will probably pick back up again. We've already had a healthy takeout through this whole thing, and I've noticed over the last month that our takeouts have been picking up more and more, and our curbside pickup. That's an option for people who maybe are immunocompromised or just don't feel secure to come out."
What about the staff working in the restaurants? How are they reacting to having to go back to work with masks on again, whether it's back in the kitchen or out in the dining room?
"They're not happy about it, I'll tell you," Schutte said of his employees. "They all went and got vaccinations; I think we're probably 96%, 98% vaccinated within our staff. One of the reasons they did it, a lot of them, obviously to protect themselves, which is No. 1, but also to not have to wear a mask... The masks [make it] really difficult, especially for people in the kitchen working in 95-degree kitchens and sweating in the smoke and that, and it's very difficult conditions. The front of the house staff, it's very difficult for them to engage the guests and have them hear audibly. It's disappointing all-around."
As for Grenauer's staff at the Glen Park Tavern, while there are some frustrations over the mask mandate, the group understands the rules and reasoning behind putting the masks back on at work.
"I know they're going to be a little hesitant about it, but I've got a great staff. They know we have to follow the rules, because if we don't, we get shut down," Grenauer said. "Mark Poloncarz made it very clear he's going to be sending people out to check. Unfortunately, the way the rules stand right now, the onus falls on the restaurant, not on the customers who just says, 'Well, I don't want to wear it.' So the onus falls all on us."
The hope all-around with this mandate is it will help see the numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the area decrease by mid-December. If that happens, or the numbers stay stagnant throughout the next few weeks, then the county will likely not be forced to impose Phase 2 of the process, which would make matters much more complicated for restaurants all-across Erie County.
"I just hope we get through this together and we get back to being ourselves and dealing with COVID, because it's going to be here for a long time," Schutte said. "I understand last year the harsh initiatives we had to take, and I didn't disagree with that one bit, but to got to limited capacities or shutdowns again would be absolutely devastating, and for no reason."
