Eye-opener:
Why are we so afraid of face masks?
Political hot potato: Larissa Nolan says whether you choose to mask up or go barefaced has become more than a health issue; it’s being seen as a statement of your position in the pandemic.
WHO’D have thought the face mask would be such a political hot potato? Yet whether you choose to mask up or go barefaced has become more than a health issue: it’s also increasingly seen as a public statement of your personal position in the pandemic.
There are some who would even seem to think dying of mortification is a greater risk rather than wearing a facial covering.
Blame – who else? – Donald Trump. The Donald has been consistent in one regard during the coronavirus crisis: he refuses to wear a mask in public. US media is describing the great mask divide as “a political and cultural flashpoint”.
On a recent trip to the Ford factory in Michigan, Trump took off his mask before greeting the press, saying he didn’t want to give them “the pleasure” of seeing him in one. This week, he shared a tweet saying masks represent “silence, slavery and social control”.
But I’m a fan of the face covering. I always wear one in shops and supermarkets. I felt like an eejit wearing a blue medical mask, so I switched to a tube scarf that pulls up over the nose and mouth.
I’d hazard a guess that feeling like an eejit might come out tops in a survey of reasons why Irish people are reluctant to cover up. I loved seeing Dr John Crown defy this selfconsciousness on the Virgin One’s ‘Tonight Show’ on Thursday, sitting on the panel with his medical mask on.
We seem to feel awkward donning a face covering – we’re mortified if we run into someone we know. Also, we’re not buying into the whole “this face mask is for your benefit, not for mine” line. Everyone wants to protect themselves – and their loved ones – from the virus. There should be no shame in that.
We either feel like a potential form of infection or that we’re insulting others. We’re going to have to get over it.
The Government’s lack of clarity on the issue is also a factor. Currently, we are advised to wear coverings in shops and on public transport, but it’s not the law, as it is in so many other countries including France, Germany and Spain. Ultimately, it would be better to see citizens voluntarily do it than be forced to.
It’s a social process that may take time. We’re not like China, the country that invented the face mask a century ago and sees it as a talisman of medical modernity.
Asian and south-east Asian countries experienced contagion during the Sars epidemic of the early 2000s. As a result, it is seen as improper to cough or sneeze without a mask, as a courtesy to protect others from your germs.
Received wisdom states that wearing masks gives a false sense of security that leads to less focus on hand-washing or cough etiquette. Sociology says otherwise. Wearing a mask is a “behavioural nudge” that is a reminder of hygiene.
It’s a ritual, like wearing a uniform, and we are more likely to live up to the behaviour associated with the ritual.
OK, so they’re not a “magic shield”, as Dr Tony Holohan has told us. But we won’t have one of those until there’s a vaccine. However, they are a key strategy in lifting lockdown, which is overdue.
We’re going to have to live with this virus. We’ll have to make reasonable safety tradeoffs to make room for practical concerns. I see face masks as a mutual assurance amongst citizens that allows society to keep functioning.
Continuous closures of schools, banning of nightlife and grounding of aircraft undermines civil liberties far more than wearing a mask ever could.
Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary is another public figure who got scolded by the Covid-cops, but this time for urging the use of masks. Nothing is zero-risk but he’s right – if all passengers wore face masks on planes, it would dramatically reduce transmissions, according to immunologist Professor Luke O’Neill.
O’Neill has been the most persuasive figure in the push to normalise face coverings here. He has observed how hardly anyone wears a mask in shops or on trains and believes it should be mandatory.
He explained that aerosols are the main transmission route: tiny particles that can remain in the air in an enclosed space. If we all wear masks, they will trap these aerosols. He said: “The evidence is clear – it helps decrease spread. It’s obvious in a way, isn’t it?”
Covid-19 is a respiratory illness; face masks are an easy win.
It’s as plain as the mask on your face.