In response to the COVID-19 pandemic the mandates set forth by the leaders of Kansas City are weak. Food handlers are not using enough protective gear to slow the spread of COVID-19. We need requirements, not mandates, in place.

Any delivery driver, grocery store, gas station, or restaurant employee should be required to wear gloves and a nose/mouth covering when handling food, take out boxes, stocking product, and receiving payments. Due to the financial situation of these workers and shortage of PPE (personal protective equipment) in the world at large the nose/mouth covering can be made of anything, such as an old t-shirt or a bandana, as recommended by the CDC for nurses and doctors experiencing shortages themselves. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/face-masks.html#crisis-capacity (see HCP use of Homemade Masks). The gloves should be anything available to the employee made of rubber that can be sterilized such as gardening or those for washing dishes with the exception of food preparers who should continue to use disposable gloves. 

Enforce places of business allowing customers inside to use portable fan devices and keep the doors open to the outside during business hours, excluding times with weather such as extreme temperatures, storms, and heavy rain. It is recommended to use high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration but due to possible shortages of those any portable fan system placed strategically to keep fresh air flowing will due. Consider increasing number of fans required by square foot of business space.

Consider not allowing customers inside restaurants, thereby closing the lobby and doing curbside service only.

If we do not enforce stricter regulations we are bound to see an increase of COVID-19 cases. Our daily lives have already been impacted. These regulations should be implemented swiftly. The better we can do now, the sooner this will be under control.