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Natchez COVID-19 Task Force members released some additional guidelines for essential businesses on Monday night.

The new guidelines set, among others, parameters on how many people can be inside a business establishment at a given time and require employees and customers to wear some type of facemask while in stores, such as grocery stores, pharmacies and other essential businesses.

Those are just a few of the guidelines.

The timing of the announcement seemed a bit late as some state governors are beginning to relax some stay-at-home orders and other communities are planning for how to get back to business.

It has been, after all, more than three weeks since Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell first issued stay-at-home orders for Natchez on March 25.

Nonetheless we believe the guidelines are sound and make good sense to help curtail the spread of COVID-19 even if a bit late.

Task force members said they had been working in tandem with the county to create the guidelines but decided the county was taking too long to approve the recommendations and went ahead and issued them.

We agree it was taking too long to issue the guidelines. They should have been put in place shortly after they were created, and we wonder if by waiting so long they will do much good, especially since enforcement of the guidelines carries no penalties. The guidelines are just strong recommendations.

None-the-less we are all for following the guidelines and encourage both Natchez and Adams County residents to adhere to the guidelines for the health of the community.

Better late than never.