Thurston County Chamber launches mask campaign

Thurston County’s Chamber of Commerce has launched a new campaign: “Wear a Mask. Save a Business.”

The campaign urges the community to follow the public health guidelines that have become a mantra during the coronavirus pandemic: Wear a mask, wash your hands and maintain social distance when you go out.

The campaign comes after a rise in new COVID-19 cases has threatened to short-circuit the reopening of the South Sound economy.

By encouraging customers and employees to follow Centers for Disease Control and county health guidelines, the chamber hopes businesses will be allowed to continue safely serving the community, stay afloat during this critical time and help halt new transmissions.

If COVID continues to spread at its current rate, businesses may be forced to shut down again, and for some, permanently, said Kevin Stormans, owner of Bayview and Ralph’s Thriftways and a member of the chamber’s board.

“Another round of closures will destroy small business, eliminate jobs and significantly harm the economy” in Thurston County, he said.