We stayed while visiting family for Christmas. Everything was clean and comfortable, but the desk staff did not wear masks. At current count, more than 10% of Clay County residents have tested positiv... more
We stayed while visiting family for Christmas. Everything was clean and comfortable, but the desk staff did not wear masks. At current count, more than 10% of Clay County residents have tested positive for coronavirus. Clay County is one of the 10 counties with the highest covid death rates in Illinois—which is why their frontline healthcare workers got a priority shipment of the Pfizer vaccine just three days after it was approved. There is a mask mandate active. And yet, every time we walked through the lobby (wearing our masks), the desk clerk was not wearing one. There is a partial plexiglass window, but it does not extend to the ceiling and does not run the full length of the desk, so it does about as much good protecting from coronavirus as the smoking and non-smoking sections in restaurants used to do protecting from smoke inhalation. It’s bad enough seeing customers everywhere else in town—Walmart, Casey’s, the pizza place—not wearing masks. It’s infuriating to see it from staff. If they don’t give a rat’s for their own health, that’s their problem, but for almost $100 a night per room, they can put on a mask for the safety of their guests. The reality is there’s probably no hotel anywhere closer than Mt. Vernon or Effingham where you’ll find hotel people smart or normal enough to take the virus seriously. But if you’re high-risk, it might be worth driving the extra miles to avoid the plague. less