By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Former Reno County Health Department Director Nick Baldetti believes that people have fairly well decided how they will behave with regard to mask wearing at this point, even with the county lifting its mandate as of Wednesday.
"The element of altruism within a society is going to ever be persistent," Baldetti said. "Those that would go back to the car to go get a mask will most likely still do so. I think, really, the implication of lapsing broad scale policy it simply allows that intermediary section sample of individuals that may have kind of shrugged their shoulders in terms of not having a mask or wearing a mask."
The county commission did make it clear that businesses in the county are allowed to make their own policy regarding masks.
"I think at this juncture, a year in, you either are or you aren't," Baldetti said. "I think we've seen that over the last, let's call it four or five months. I think there's been less vitriol around the element of mask-wearing, However, without the overarching policy, I do think people are just going to decide for themselves."
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly intends to renew her mask order in April and require counties to opt out.