Please continue to protect Virginia employees! I live in one of the top ten zip codes for Covid cases in Virginia. As someone that works with the public (retail), I wear a mask all day while at work. It's hot, it's uncomfortable; it makes my face sweat, and I have to drink even more water than normal to stay hydrated. So I know what I'm talking about. People that don't want to wear a mask for the 30 minutes or so they are inside my store or any other can do their shopping online. I don't have the option to work from home. I am in my fifties and so is my husband, who is also high risk. No amount of cleaning we do in the store will protect us if someone without a mask comes in and coughs into the air near us, or onto the surfaces we are touching. We also need to know right away if a coworker is diagnosed with this disease. People are already ignoring the mandate we have; if you take the mandate away, a lot more people will stop wearing masks, putting all of us at greater risk.