Masks and Mandates: My July 13 Email to the Portsmouth City Council

Members of the City Council and Mayor Becksted:

I am a supporter of requiring masks to be worn in environments where physical distancing cannot be maintained. I am strongly urging you to 1) adopt a behaviorally-based strategy that would maximize the wearing of masks in our community in areas where social distancing is challenging and 2) to begin the process of approving a mask ordinance for Portsmouth that would fine or penalize residents and visitors who fail to comply.

Since March, nearly 400 people in New Hampshire have died from the virus.  Nearly 140,000 have died in the U.S. and over half a million people worldwide. At this point, 47 other states are experiencing surges in cases. While bankruptcies in New Hampshire have been historically low, the amount of federal aid available to help businesses pay employees and hold off creditors has been historically high—a situation that will change as federal aid dries up at the end of the month. Meanwhile, the virus shows no signs of calming down. In states that reopened prematurely and unwisely, infections are surging to record highs. “Pandemic fatigue” and the abysmal failure of leadership at the national level have also caused some—including some of you—to see mask wearing as a political issue rather than as a public health issue.

Unfortunately it’s a political issue by necessity because the action by public officials such as yourselves is required to enact policies that will have the desired impact of maximizing mask-wearing to reduce the spread. While it is true that many people are more than willing to whatever is necessary at the personal level to help, it is an indisputable fact that others will require nudges and reminders, while still others just may need a good swift kick in the seat of the pants.

Tonight, the council will met to consider separate measures to 1) require the wearing of masks in Portsmouth when physical distancing cannot be maintained and 2) to endorse the idea of providing “positive incentives” to encourage compliance in the absence of any fines or penalties in the first measure.

From a behavioral perspective, rewards and penalties are typically both part of the picture when it comes to maximizing behavior change in a situation where the goal is full compliance. While short-term motivators, such as a reward of some sort, can result in temporary adoption of a desired behavior, they rarely result in a change becoming a habit. Short-term rewards can also reduce intrinsic motivation—in other words, the motivation to adopt a habit for its own sake because it is the right thing to do. 

Ideally when it comes to wearing a mask, I’d like to think we could all agree that we would like to see everyone eventually become intrinsically motivated to wear a mask regardless of how we feel when it comes to our political preferences. The right thing to do is always to protect others. 

But one look downtown shows we have quite a few visitors and residents who either don't feel this way or who don't feel there will be consequences if they don’t wear a mask. What many of these folks may not be seeing that you are responsible for seeing are the consequences for our business community and our workers if we allow Portsmouth to continue to be a mask-free zone for anyone suffering from pandemic fatigue, a bad case of sociopathy, or who just doesn’t like wearing them.

I do not want to see a surge in cases in our community that could result in closures and more of our people becoming ill and dying. I’m sure none of you do either.

Getting more people to wear masks when they should be wearing them isn’t just a matter of making a choice between carrots and sticks. In a complex and fast-changing environment like the one we are facing with the pandemic, a strategy of choosing the right carrots AND the right sticks is likely to be much more effective. 

“Getting more people to wear masks when they should be wearing them isn’t just a matter of making a choice between carrots and sticks. In a complex and fast-changing environment like the one we are facing with this pandemic, a strategy of choosing the right carrots AND the right sticks is likely to be much more effective.”

Nashua has had success with an ordinance mandating masks with a $200 penalty. Both its infection and death rates are well under those of Manchester—not a small achievement for a border town chock full of restaurants and shopping malls where Massachusetts residents from viral hotspots have been free to make shopping and day trips since this whole thing started. But Mayor Donchess and the Aldermen of that city would probably be the first to tell you that what they weren’t trying to achieve with their ordinance was a new revenue source—it was to create the “possibility of a penalty”. This strategy combined with a light enforcement touch, a strong outreach campaign, and an ongoing commitment to address masks and physical distancing as public health enablers to addressing the city’s economic issues has helped make Nashua a success story at a time when many other cities and states are drowning in failure.

In addition to considering incentives and penalties, removing barriers is also critical. Both our city and state governments must do far more to make it easier for more people to mask up. Unfortunately, selling masks acquired by the state from Dean Kaman’s China connections for $20 for a box of 50 in state liquor stores (where only clerks are required to wear them) does not impress me as good public policy. Something I would like to see the council consider is acquiring a large number of masks that could be distributed at no cost to people needing them downtown, outside grocery stores, and in other places where people are likely to be out in significant numbers in places where social distancing is a challenge. The bottom line: if you want people to do something, make it easy.

One final comment. During this crisis, it is vitally important for people to see community leaders, business leaders, coaches, teachers, and as many everyday citizens as possible photographed wearing masks, promoting mask-wearing, and reinforcing this behavior in others in visible ways. The ultimate goal is to make the wearing of masks a social norm and a habit in our community--a habit that draws attention when people DON'T do it versus when they do. 

The simple truth is that Portsmouth needs many more visitors and residents to be wearing masks when out in public. The council needs to do whatever is necessary to make that happen. Not just whatever is easiest.

Rep. David Meuse, Portsmouth