Two weeks after distributing a statement that he would not issue an executive order requiring those in Rutherford County to cover their faces while in public, Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron announced that he would officially impose a county-wide mask mandate, which began on July 22, in response to the COVID-19 virus.

“Rather than strongly encouraging wearing a mask, we are requiring it,” Ketron said. “Some of our citizens and visitors just are not taking this health event seriously enough. We have got to do everything we possibly can to slow the spread of this virus in our communities.”

The order had an immediate polarizing effect upon many Rutherford County residents, with many voicing strong opposition to, or support for, the mayor’s Declaration of Public Health Emergency.

“My body, my choice,” Nick Bethea said. “I won’t put one on ever.”

“I still won’t be wearing one,” Jonna Lilly posted on the Rutherford County Government Facebook page.

Tina Shawntay stated “This is a complete violation of our constitutional rights! This is not a Middle Eastern country.”

And Michelle Lilly said that she did not intend to comply with the directive.

Others, many of whom had been pushing for government officials to implement such mandates, celebrated the order as a positive development for the community.

“Finally,” Amy Stewart Tollefson said.

“Thank you, Mayor Ketron, for doing the right thing to protect the people of Rutherford County even if some of them are too dumb to know it!” Cheryl Wolfe posted.

“If wearing a piece of cloth over my face potentially saved the life of another human being, I’ll gladly wear one,” said Amanda Harden. “And if they prove to be ineffective, if my biggest inconvenience is wearing a piece of cloth over my face, then I am happy with having to wear one.”

The order came after 41 deaths due to COVID-19 in Rutherford County over a four-month period, according to statistics from the Tennessee Department of Health.

While COVID-19 remains a hot topic throughout the summer of 2020, many don’t believe the number of cases and deaths warrant some of the drastic measures taken by some government officials.

“[He] just lost some votes,” Patsy Harris said after Mayor Ketron issued the mask order.

“We all have been completely lied to and the government (as a whole) is using this for their own agenda,” Josh Gibson wrote in reply to the declaration on social media. “Does the virus exist? Yeah, of course, but it has been grossly overplayed and inflated.”

Jeni Smith speculates that “it’ll go away after the November election.”

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee tweeted a plea for Tennesseans to “take the politics out of masks.” Ironically, in the same tweet, he called the wearing of a mask, which so many governing executives have ordered, a “personal decision.”

Some observers, though, say they feel like the politicians themselves put the politics into masks by constantly talking about them, and requiring or suggesting their use.

“Masks are being politicized because they’re being forced on us,” a Twitter user known as Chelsea Mae tweeted.

Other Tennessee residents see wearing a mask, in itself, as only a slight inconvenience, but still a symbol of submission by the masses to the government executives (or the “Deep State,” in the opinion of some). Another Rutherford County resident asks if this mask exercise could be a social experiment preparing the population to more easily accept a vaccine, a microchip, vital sign monitor, internal cashless payment device or a Biblical mark of the beast.

Jason Boling says that “requiring a mask to protect the minority who suffer severe cases is like setting your house thermostat to 50 degrees so your perishable food doesn’t spoil. Keep the vulnerable isolated and let asymptomatic people go about normal life.”

Even though Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland said “please” when he asked residents to abide by the mask order, Brian Davis called those supporting mandatory face coverings “gutless” and “brainwashed,” among other things.

Rutherford County Public Information Officer Ashley McDonald said that the administration changed positions on a mandate on the wearing of face coverings “after input from local mayors who comprise the Rutherford County Mayor Caucus and other stakeholders, including MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee, state and local health experts and civic and business leaders.”

The mask requirement did not apply to those outdoors, in their own residence or automobile, ages 12 and younger, those with an underlying health condition, attending a house of worship or gathering at a voting site.

Additionally, a statewide executive order issued by Gov. Lee specified that residents should create their own face coverings out of cloth; “surgical masks and N-95 respirators should be reserved for health care workers and first responders,” Lee’s Executive Order No. 54 stated.

According to the Rutherford County Mayor’s Declaration, a violation of the county’s mask order may constitute a Class A misdemeanor, the most serious of Tennessee misdemeanors.