Photo courtesy of the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry Chamber staff model #WhyIWearIt signs as part of a campaign in conjunction with several state-wide organizations highlighting the need for the public to wear a mask when entering businesses.

Few things have been more controversial in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic than face coverings.

But for the business community, complying with state and federal mask guidance might provide a path to ensure businesses stay open.

That’s at the heart of the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry’s #WhyIWearIt campaign.

“We support the wearing of masks to help all our local businesses stay in compliance with state orders, PA Department of Health and CDC guidelines,” John Papalia, director of Chamber Operations and Tourism, said. “We understand that the business community is faced with very difficult times, and are doing everything they can to stay open and run their business.

“By wearing a mask we help them to accomplish this goal, and we ask the community to help them as well. It is our hope that by wearing masks and following other recommendations and guidelines we can further slow the spread of COVID-19 and ultimately resume to a more normal way of life.”

Participating in the effort with the Pa. Chamber of Business and Industry, Pa. Medical Society and the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, an email from the WCCBI indicates that a template can be downloaded at https://files.constantcontact.com/26c776ee001/d2635142-4813-4089-8c20-89f37af139e9.pdf.

The WCCBI asks those who complete the template to email a selfie with the placard to szimmerman@wwccbi.org or post it to the Chamber’s Facebook page.

Last month, WCCBI President and CEO Jim Decker wrote a letter to the community further detailing the chamber’s position on this issue.

“I am reaching out to the citizens of Warren County for your consideration, on behalf of the privately-owned businesses throughout the county, to set aside your personal feelings and political views on these matters and put a facemask on before entering any local business establishments.”

Decker wrote that the businesses didn’t have a say in the orders that have been handed down.

“There are venues and avenues available to question and challenge the decisions being made by our state and federal governments,” he wrote. “The threshold of any Warren County businesses is not one of them.”