Employers now required to keep staffs masked up

A COVID outbreak traced to a Carbondale child care facility has prompted city leaders to pass a new ordinance requiring employers to make sure their employees wear face masks.

Meeting remotely on Tuesday evening, the council unanimously approved the measure, which mandates a fine of $250 per day for every violation that occurs. The measure supplements an ordinance passed in July requiring members of the public to wear masks when proper social distancing isn't possible.

The new ordinance is in response to a reported outbreak at Robin's Nest Learning Center, located at 312 S. Wall St. City Manager Gary Williams said at least 10 positive cases have been connected to the facility.

Councilman Adam Loos suggested the reported lack of masks at the facility is the result of the owner's political leanings, and he called the situation "grossly irresponsible."

"Their behavior is absolutely disgraceful," Loos said Tuesday. "They've been non-responsive to contact tracing. They have refused, I guess for political reasons, to require masks, and this is a business that deals with children."

Robin Moore, who owns several Robin's Nest locations in southern Illinois, spoke with the Times Thursday and called Loos' comments "slanderous." She said she considers herself a Democrat, always wears a mask herself in public, and developed a COVID plan for her facilities early during the pandemic.

"When my (first) team member called me and told me she tested positive, I immediately called each parent of the children in that classroom and informed them of the situation," Moore said. "I provided a list of parent names and phone numbers to the health department within 1 hour of being contacted."

Moore pointed to some nuance she sees in the use of masks around young children.

"I don't believe in wearing masks with small children as we are teaching them language and word formation," Moore said. "The children need to develop trust through a smile and tender touches."

The ordinance takes effect immediately.