Face coverings can be a nuisance to wear, and, depending on the mask, they likely won’t protect you from contracting the coronavirus. But you should wear one anyway.
There’s been a lot of confusion about whether we should wear masks in public and why. At first, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended against wearing masks, and now, they’re urging citizens to wear them in public. This about-face has a simple explanation: the CDC learned more about the COVID-19 virus and how it spreads.
As they studied the virus, health experts realized that the coronavirus can spread before symptoms appear, and they also learned that the virus can spread through asymptomatic carriers. If this virus was contagious only when symptoms were present, face masks would not be necessary, since symptomatic carriers would hopefully choose to quarantine themselves for at least two weeks. But because the virus can be spread unknowingly, the CDC realized it needed to change its guidance and encourage everyone, since we don’t know for sure who’s sick, to take preventative measures.
The benefits of face coverings are clear: Masks can help prevent mass transmission of the virus by people who might have the COVID-19 virus without realizing it, especially in public buildings, such as the grocery store. But there is still quite a bit of confusion when it comes to how effective face masks really are. Homemade, cloth masks will help prevent the wearer from spreading the virus to others, but they won’t prevent the wearer from catching the virus. Medical-grade respirator masks can, in fact, protect the wearer. But these are expensive and often hard to come by, and they should probably be set aside for healthcare workers.
There is a growing number of people who dislike face masks and find them useless. I have even seen those who wear masks described as “cowards,” but this is nonsense. To wear a mask is such a minor inconvenience, and for nearly everyone, it is an act of generosity toward others. You don’t wear a mask for yourself, you wear it for the sake of those around you.
Mask-wearing is a public courtesy — an act of service. Obviously, there are limits to where and when masks are needed (neither drivers nor joggers exercising outdoors really need them), and we shouldn’t expect those with respiratory problems to put themselves at risk. But for those of us who are able, face masks can be a way to better love and serve your neighbors. It really is as simple as that.
