The mandate to wear masks is damaging to people's physical and mental health. To not be able to see your fellow citizens' faces when out and about in society creates a barrier to communication and connection. I am someone who lives here with no family and few friends around. Now my human interaction is relegated to 'small talk' with a faceless stranger who's wondering if I'm going to kill them by breathing on them. It's very isolating and lonely and NOT necessary! As for physical health, most people do not wear the masks correctly. According to the CDC and WHO, if a mask gets wet, or if you touch the mask, it's corrupted. Look around you. How many times do you see people fiddling with their mask? Furthermore, the WHO still says that healthy people need not wear masks - only those who are sick or caring for someone who's sick should wear a mask. As for the claim that asymptomatic spread is a major threat, where's the evidence for that? Public health officials and politicians like Gov. Northam have lost all credibility when they say we should stay home to 'save lives' and yet encourage and condone protests and riots like we've seen lately. Also, their insistence that children be locked away and schools reopen with mass restrictions also makes them look foolish. It's clear from the numbers (check the CDC) that very few children become gravely ill, are hospitalized, or die from COVID-19 (Thank God!). The leaders espouse science, but can't seem to grasp simple number crunching when it comes to the COVID data. The result? You have no credibility. So, please stop dictating to us that we have to cover our faces when out in public and stop fearmongering. Be truthful and let us live. You, Gov Northam, serve the people. You're not a dictator on high. I'm not looking to you to tell me what's best for me. You've proven that you don't have a clue.