St. Joseph County may have started a new trend in response to rising COVID-19 rates, forcing businesses to enforce the wearing of masks on their employees. On November 17th, 2020, the St. Joseph County Commissioners passed a new law creating allowing county health departments to fine businesses that are not in compliance with the mask mandate.

Fines can range anywhere from $50 to $250 daily, for each day that a business does not comply with the law. Of course, this mandate only applies to businesses whose employees are not wearing masks. The fines are not enforceable for customers of businesses failing to wear masks. This comes as a new attempt to combat the surging second wave that Indiana is facing.

Of course, the next step is to make such a fine enforceable on customers as well. With the coming of the second wave of COVID-19 cases, a new approach has to be taken to adequately and effectively slow and stop the spread of this pandemic. Realistically, everyone can begin to do their part by wearing a mask anytime they are in a public setting. Everyone has to pull together and unify in the fight to stop COVID-19.