The statewide mask mandate was a great step in protecting our state from COVID-19, but it lacks teeth.

Employees at retail stores, fitness centers, and other businesses are often the primary level of enforcement. When someone claims a medical exemption, they have to just let them go mask free without any documentation. I’m sure there are very few who truly need this exemption, but I see it abused often. I was working at a gym and couldn’t enforce it on the guy who rode his bike to the facility. If you’re riding your bike then choosing to be in a high-risk environment like a fitness center, I question your true need to be mask free.

I was behind someone entering Walmart recently who told employees, “My doctor says I can’t wear a mask.” Really? You had a consultation with your doctor and your respiratory system is in such bad shape that it’s still advisable you be in Walmart.

You don’t have to go anywhere. We live in an age of technology that lets you have literally anything delivered to your door or for curbside pickup. Going to a fitness center is a luxury, not a requirement. The same goes for restaurants. 

If Gov. Polis decides to extend the mask order, he should amend it to be more enforceable -- either allowing a business to flat out refuse entry to those without a mask or requiring documentation from a doctor. Without it, the maskless will continue to ruin it for everyone.