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Covid-19: Why You Should Be Wearing a Mask

Masks were supposed to be a way to protect ourselves from Covid-19, while also protecting the people you come in contact with. However, due to the lack of education and the political situation that we in the United States find ourselves in, it has become a matter of contention. 

Before we go further, let us make it clear, blueEHR believes that masks are important in the fight against Covid-19 and we stringently enforce the wearing of masks in our offices.

But, that’s not enough. The World Health Organization (WHO) and health organizations around the world have stated that masks alone are not enough to stop the spread of Covid-19; they have also made it clear that inputting it into a combined strategy of maintaining social distancing, washing your hands thoroughly, not touching your face and avoiding crowds is the key to stopping the spread of Covid-19.

This is hard, however, due to the growing anti-mask supporters. Why is this a thing? Why are there people who are against something as simple as wearing a mask? Well, it comes back to the United States being highly divided due to politics. Due to the President himself stating that the threat of Covid-19 is gone, as well as his refusal to wear a mask, and his insistence on opening up the country as quickly as possible, his supporters don’t see the need for masks. They think that the threat has passed.

But, it’s not just the President’s supporters who are against wearing masks. According to an interview that Health.com did with California-based psychiatrist and author Gayani DeSilva, MD (as well as others), there are many other reasons for this, such as:

1. Competing messages have confused people. If you are someone who is not very informed, you’re stuck between deciding on whether to listen to the President, or the majority of the media. 
2. Denial. Covid-19 has been traumatizing for everyone. In the span of a few months, the world changed entirely. This is the first time something like this has happened in a century. Pretending that it is done and over can be comforting.
3. Wanting to feel in control. The last few months have led to a feeling of loss of control. You couldn’t go outside. You couldn’t do most of your daily activities. You couldn’t even buy hand soap or toilet paper when you wanted it. Now, for the first time in months, it feels like there is hope.Like the world is returning to normal. Wearing a mask makes some feel like they’re still under the thumb of Covid-19 and they are fighting against that. 
4. Some people are just selfish and don’t care about others.

The problem with most of these trains of thought is that they go off the assumption that Covid-19 is going away. That is simply and unfortunately not true. For instance, on Saturday, Florida reported the highest number of cases they had reported in a single day. This beat their former record, which was set on Thursday. This is not a one state issue either. A quick Google search will show states closing down again or slowing down their reopening plans.

So, what can we do to fight this? It’s simple, it’s the name of this article, it’s what the top half of this article is about: wearing masks. It’s a minor inconvenience, but it can lead to major benefits. We live in a society. We have a responsibility to ourselves. We have a responsibility to each other. If you wearing a mask means that someone else doesn’t get sick, then it is worth it. This virus shouldn’t be dividing us over such petty issues. It should bring us together and remind us of how quickly everything can change and that we shouldn’t take anything for granted or waste it.
Here are a couple of infographics from WHO on how to wear clothing masks and medical mask.