Are Boiseans more likely to wear masks than their neighbors? Here’s what we found
Boise implemented a mask mandate to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic; Meridian did not.
Central District Health later imposed a mask mandate for all of Ada County; Southwest District Health preferred a mask recommendation for Canyon County.
The differing approaches led to a common perception — that Boiseans were taking the pandemic more seriously than their neighbors. Members of the Central District Health Board of Health even called out Southwest District Health, suggesting that Ada County couldn’t knock down the summer surge of the virus without help from Canyon County.
But is there really a difference in mask wearing — considered one of the best defenses against the virus — as you move west through the Treasure Valley? We tried to find out.
We spent an hour each at an Albertsons, a Walmart and a Home Depot in Boise, Meridian and Nampa. We also visited a public gathering place in each city. We counted who was and wasn’t wearing masks for that hour, and compiled results. For stores, we watched from outside and counted people either as they entered or as they exited, to avoid double counting.
What we learned is that the difference between mask usage in Boise, Meridian and Nampa is actually quite small — and that congested, outdoor spaces remain a spot where Idahoans are far less likely to wear masks.
Across the three stores, we found that 90.7% of customers wore masks in Boise, 89.4% in Meridian and 87.1% in Nampa.
The Central and Southwest health districts say they haven’t done any mask surveys but were encouraged by what we found. CDH issued its mask mandate July 14, 10 days after Boise’s began.
“The numbers align with what we might expect to see, and with what we see, anecdotally, as public health employees who move throughout the community in our work, and personally,” Christine Myron, a spokesperson for Boise-based CDH, wrote in an email. “We are both encouraged by and pleased to see evidence that the majority of people understand that wearing a face covering is not only required in Ada County and by most retailers, but it’s the right thing to do to help protect others in the community.”
Downtown Nampa visitors actually topped downtown Boise visitors, 55.3% to 47.6%. And at The Village at Meridian, masks were worn by 93.2% of people.
Southwest District Health, which covers Canyon County, put out a mask recommendation on July 23 as part of a series of recommendations to try to slow the virus.
“Businesses across the district have been responsive to these recommendations by adopting practices that allow for physical distancing and requiring masks for their staff and patrons,” Katrina Williams, a spokesperson for Caldwell-based Southwest District Health, wrote in an email.
Our findings in Boise, Meridian and Nampa
In Boise, we visited the Albertsons near Columbia Village (6560 S. Federal Way), The Home Depot in East Boise (3639 S. Federal Way) and the Walmart near Interstate 84 (8300 W. Overland). The results:
Home Depot: 94.5% masks of 91 customers
Walmart: 90.7% masks of 204 customers
Albertsons: 87.5% masks of 112 customers
In Meridian, we visited the Albertsons (3499 E. Fairview) and Walmart (4051 E. Fairview) near the Eagle-Fairview intersection and The Home Depot near I-84 (1100 S. Progress). The results:
Home Depot: 96.1% masks of 76 customers
Walmart: 89% masks of 127 customers
Albertsons: 85.8% masks of 127 customers
In Nampa, we visited the Albertsons (2400 12th Ave.) and Walmart (2100 12th Ave.) along 12th Avenue and The Home Depot off Karcher Road (2003 N. Cassia St.). The results:
Home Depot: 95.4% masks of 65 customers
Walmart: 89.4% masks of 189 customers
Albertsons: 81.4% masks of 172 customers
In each city, Albertsons ranked below The Home Depot and Walmart in mask compliance despite mask requirements at all three retailers.
About 90% of Albertsons stores are in areas with mask mandates and the company requires masks in the rest, said Kathy Holland, a spokesperson for the Albertsons Companies Intermountain Division. However, stores don’t enforce the mandate.
Instead, managers are asked to inform mask-less customers of the rule, recommend any masks that might be for sale in the store and suggest pickup or delivery service, Holland wrote in an email.
“If a customer claims an exemption, we offer to assist them in completing their shopping trip,” Holland wrote. “If a customer refuses to wear a mask and to leave the store, we permit the customer to continue shopping in order to avoid conflicts that would put the store director or other employees and customers at risk. If required by local ordinance, the store director will also contact local law enforcement and meet other legal requirements, if any.”
What about outside?
Mask compliance outdoors remains far lower than indoors.
At The Grove Plaza in downtown Boise, a stream of walkers and cyclists mixed Wednesday afternoon — often getting well within 6 feet of others. Only 47.6% of the 252 people who passed through the plaza in an hourlong period were wearing masks.
Downtown Nampa was similar (55.3% masks of 76 people), while The Village at Meridian was an outlier (93.2% of 88 people).
The outdoor numbers get even lower in other parts of the community.
Tom Gilmore of Boise walks about 10.5 miles every day on sidewalks and the Greenbelt, on the same loop in East Boise. On April 29, the 78-year-old Air Force veteran started carrying two clickers and counting how many people he encountered and how many were wearing masks. He has tracked all of his data in a spreadsheet that he shared with the Idaho Statesman.
Of the 36,738 people he had encountered as of Thursday, only 15.3% were wearing masks. Other Statesman readers have complained about seeing a similar lack of compliance at public events, including youth sports.
“I started wearing (a mask) when they said you ought to wear a mask,” Gilmore said in a phone interview. “ ‘All these other people don’t have a clue’ — that’s basically what I was thinking.”
His numbers do show improvement, from 3% masks on April 29 to 7% on July 3 (the day before Boise’s mask mandate began) to 23% for all of August. But he’s down to 17.6% in September.
“I don’t get a sense that anybody is concerned about the mask if they don’t have one,” Gilmore said.
The Central and Southwest health districts say people should wear masks even outdoors when they are going to be within 6 feet of non-household members.
“While being outside does reduce the risk, there is still risk — especially in situations where you’re not consistently maintaining 6 feet of distance between yourself and others,” Myron wrote. “Wear a mask. It’s one of the best ways we can do our part. It’s a small sacrifice to help protect your fellow community members.”
This story was originally published September 20, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
