To mask or not to mask?

Enforce NM pandemic rules or they are meaningless

IN THE last seven days, it has become painfully apparent that at least 50% of citizens who are out and about are neither wearing masks nor practicing social distancing. The grocery stores are full of people crowding each other without wearing masks. The state guidelines for how New Mexicans should be handling the pandemic are good but, without enforcement, they are also meaningless.

My husband is an ICU nurse at UNMH. He is on the front lines taking care of COVID-19 patients every day. My 13-year-old son and I are in day 59 of selfisolation. We are doing everything we can, and we’re still at high risk, simply due to the nature of my husband’s job. That’s OK. We’re all happy to take that risk.

However, we have a right to live. There’s no need for us to risk our lives and well-being simply by going out for groceries. I know it’s frightening to risk confrontation, but the way things are unfolding in our communities is not safe, and it’s not sustainable. The rules must be enforced.

LILY COLLEEN WATERMAN Albuquerque

Easy to mandate masks, but finding one’s a bit harder

When the (governor) of New Mexico mandated wearing of masks by all citizens, it would have been gracious of her to inform us where we might buy one. Three months of searching finally produced two of the disposable El Cheapos for $2 each.

HAROLD SNIDER Rio Rancho

Masks do work; if everyone wears one we’re all safer

I WISH to take issue with the op-ed piece by Dr. Lawrence W. Gernon in the Sunday, May 10, issue of the Albuquerque Journal, in which he argues that masks worn by members of the public are useless in preventing COVID-19 infection . ...

It is true surgical masks are intended to protect others from the person wearing them, not the person wearing the mask from others. Gernon implies homemade masks may do an even poorer job of protecting the user. He neglects (to say) that if everyone in a group wears a mask that protects others, each person will be protected by masks worn by the other members of the group, if not their own mask.

Furthermore, Gernon is unnecessarily pessimistic about the potential of homemade masks. An article in the April 5 issue of The New York Times summarized test data for various materials using particle sizes under 0.3 micron, a range including individual coronavirus particle sizes — about 0.1 micron. Surgical masks removed 60-87% of the particles while multilayer cotton bandannas removed only 18-20%. However, a double layer of quilting fabric removed 70-79%, quite comparable to the surgical mask . ...

It seems clear that, with care, a homemade mask can provide significant individual protection, and additional protection accrues to all members of a group if everyone wears a mask . ...

DAVID C. WILLIAMS Albuquerque

Freedom is freedom no matter what we’re facing

FREEDOM IS not something that is granted to us by our government under some circumstances and taken away under different circumstances. Freedom is freedom no matter what. When we allow our governor to dictate under what circumstances we are free, then we are no longer free. Mandate, dictate, it’s all the same, and too many citizens are allowing it because they think there’s a valid reason for it.

Under no circumstances can freedom be withdrawn. Freedom is freedom no matter what we’re facing in this country. Too many people died fighting for it, and we cannot give it up so easily when we face something new and scary.

Everyone is free to choose right now. Wear a mask or don’t wear one when you’re walking down the street. It’s your choice, not the governor’s. Take whatever consequences your protest brings, and go down swinging. That’s freedom.

JENNIFER FINLAYSON Albuquerque

Physical reminders to do social distancing can help

THE OP-ED piece, “False security? That cloth mask won’t keep out COVID-19” (Journal, May 10) is misleading. It argues an N95 mask is better than a cloth mask— true, but for me and many others who don’t have an N95, that is not the issue.

The issue is: Is it better to wear a cloth mask, which offers incomplete protection, or no mask at all? I believe that when we go out in public, we would be better protected if we all wore masks, even if they are cloth.

When I wear my cloth mask, it reminds me to keep social distancing, and it shows others that I take social distancing seriously. With my mask on, I am more likely to keep my hands away from my face.

When I get back to my car and take my mask off, I am reminded to use my hand sanitizer immediately. The protection from sneezes and coughs is not perfect, but the mask mitigates the spread of the virus.

Food workers and shelf stockers wearing masks will spread fewer aerosolborne viruses. Although the virus is only 0.1 microns in diameter, when it moves through the air in much larger waterbased aerosol particles, it has some likelihood of being trapped by even a cotton mask.

The cotton mask is not perfect, but when combined with social distancing, it can be a help in avoiding the virus. It is not an issue of “false security” but one of enhanced protection.

RONALD BOUSEK Albuquerque

If masks work so well, why hasn’t economy reopened?

I WOULD like to pose some questions for people to think about. If Personal Protection Equipment such as masks work so well, why is our economy not opened back up? Doctors have stated that staying indoors is actually compromising our immune system, wearing masks all the time does more harm than good. New York’s numbers show that nearly 70% of the new COVID-19 hospitalizations are people that were locked down at home. How is it that inmates have to be set free, aren’t they supposedly isolated from society? ... Those who work in meat plants are literally covered from head to toe to protect against contamination, so how is this virus spreading throughout our meat or food processing plants, forcing closures? ...

Our food sources are in trouble . ... Here is a thought: Let’s go back to the basics, let’s buy our food directly from farmers and ranchers instead of these box stores since we really don’t know where that food is coming from or if it is actually safe to eat. Let’s open back up the butcher shops where we can buy directly from the producer. Help keep our food source alive, otherwise folks, we will end up like Venezuela, I can guarantee.

PATTIE ALEXANDER Moriarty

Source control keeps ill from well, limits virus spread

DR. LAWRENCE W. Gernon and Dr. Yibing Li (Sunday Journal, May 10) present two different views on slowing the spread of the COVID-19 infection. Li understands that isolation and quarantine, fundamentals of public health policy, are proven to slow the spread of disease. Gernon’s piece on cloth masks, full of citations and scientific jargon, misses the point. It does a disservice to public health efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 . ...

Face coverings are a form of source control, meaning that the face covering shields others from the source of the infection, which is the person wearing the mask. We now know that some people are carrying the virus into public spaces unknowingly. If they do not wear a face mask they pass the virus along to others.

Source control limits spread by keeping the ill from the well. Social distancing and requiring ill people to stay home from work are source controls. Contact tracing results in knowing and isolating the source. Additionally, isolation and quarantine shelters and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s stay-at-home order are all source controls, and needed to slow the spread of COVID-19. Li is correct to appeal for a continuation of the health orders . ...

A true New Mexican cares about their family, friends, community and others. They obey traffic laws, have a designated driver and follow rules. They are socially responsible and look out for the wellbeing of others. Be a true New Mexican and wear a face covering in public.

CAROLYN OGREN, RN NP Albuquerque