To the Editor:

I would like to thank Mayor Freda, Emergency Manager Yeh, and Assistant Administrator Grosser for putting our local mask mandate in place. Princeton joins at least 15 other New Jersey municipalities — from small towns like Montclair to our largest city, Newark — with this move.

It’s hard to fathom how inconsiderate and selfish some people can be. I personally experienced this on Christmas Eve, with the Omicron variant already pushing Princeton’s daily COVID case numbers to their highest levels since the start of the pandemic. I went to one of my favorite small local restaurants to pick up takeout food I had ordered. It was a cold evening and about 10-12 people were waiting in a very small area inside the store. All were masked, as were the employees — all of whom have been since March 2020. All that is except for one inconsiderate family of three who insisted on standing right in front of the pick-up table maskless, although their food was not yet ready. Shameful!

I know that many restaurant and store owners already have signs in their windows saying “mask suggested” or “please wear a mask.” I hope that they will change these signs to “Masks required by Princeton Emergency Order of January 10, 2022.”

John Heilner
Howe Circle