New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell Wants Our Input on When to Reopen

It's really the big elephant in the room: when and how we will reopen the SouthCoast? New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell is going on the record to ask for our input on not only when but how we should safely reopen.

Mayor Mitchell said in a recent interview on our sister station WBSM that he understands that in order for this to work, we need the public to buy in. I think he is right. There are so many circumstances that all of us are under, we should share all of our stories and our challenges that we have not only had during this pandemic but the challenges we face to getting back to business in the new normal.

Here is the full interview with Mayor Mitchell with WBSM's Phil Paleologos:

Lots of great info for the city of New Bedford. If you ask me what I think we need to open up safely, here are my initial thoughts:

Yes, everyone should be wearing face masks when in public. Especially in cases where we can't practice social distancing.

More testing locations and accessibility for everyone. That being predicated on the tests also being free for everyone. I know we have been upping our game in this area but it's a bigger issue across the country.

Hand sanitizer everywhere! I think it's essential to at least carry it with us if not able to easily wash our hands or wear gloves.

Treatment; obviously one of the big issues has been capacity at our health care facilities to properly treat those that had contracted the coronavirus.

Hopefully, the date the governor has given us of May 18 will stick and we will be ready.

What do you think it would take (other than a vaccine) to get us open up safely? If you want to let the mayor know your thoughts, he says you can message him on Facebook or call his office at (508) 979-1410.