Face Masks A Flashpoint; Ohio Reverses Course

Government orders requiring members of the public to wear a face mask appear to be a COVID-19 epidemic flashpoint.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has issued an executive order requiring all residents to wear a face mask when entering an enclosed public place. The executive order also states there are no penalties for not wearing a face mask.

Some businesses in Michigan are requiring customers to wear a mask while in their store.

A security guard at a Family Dollar store was shot and killed May 1 after telling a customer that her daughter had to wear a face mask while in the store. Two family members of the angry customer returned and one shot the guard.

A 33-year-old Macomb County woman attacked an employee at Nino Salvaggio’s food market and spit on a police officer May 2 after being told to leave for not wearing a face mask, according to TV station WDIV.

In Holly, a man was arrested May 2 when he wiped his nose and face on a store clerk’s shirt after being asked to wear a face mask. The Oakland Press reported the incident happened at a Dollar Tree store.

The governor of neighboring state Ohio had issued an executive order mandating face masks be worn in public businesses on April 27, but he repealed it the next day.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said his order went too far.

“It became clear to me that that was just a bridge too far. People were not going to accept the government telling them what to do,” DeWine told ABC. “You got to know what you can and what you can’t do.”