Putting faith in masks and social-distancing
In 1975, the band Hot Chocolate had a tune in which they sang “I believe in miracles.” Well, a miracle is what we need with the continued spread of COVID-19 which has wreaked havoc on our lives this year. (If you thought the band was singing “I believe in mangoes,” you’re not alone, trust me.)
That’s why I believe in masks. I realize that’s a controversial thing to say given how many people feel wearing one is an affront to their freedom.
Masks and social distancing are proven by science to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Instead of crying about rights and boasting they won’t live in fear, anti-maskers need to become part of the solution instead of being part of the problem.
As a guy with a son who works in a long-term care facility, I’m 100 per cent committed to wearing a mask. My son and others in the health-care field are on the frontlines of the COVID battle and I’m not going to risk his life when he risks his own every single day he goes to work.
Anti-maskers, along with those who ignore social-distancing rules, are prolonging this situation. And wearing a mask is not about losing freedom, or living in fear — it’s about protecting others from contracting this silent killer.
What rights do the people dying in hospital have because of COVID? Did they not deserve to continue living and should they die because someone selfishly refuses to wear a mask in public? While I realize some can’t wear masks, I have to wonder how many people simply won’t because of their own opposition to mask rules. And are there not alternatives, like wearing a plastic shield?
When people walk into a store and refuse to wear a mask, they are putting others at harm, and as science now shows, themselves, as well. If antimaskers don’t care about their own health, they can still show some consideration for others.
Walking into a store without a mask is like a person walking into another’s house without taking off shoes because of a belief their footwear won’t soil carpets. Nobody would do that, but people have no hesitation disrespecting the rules of someone’s business where others shop and which provides a livelihood for staff. That is completely unfair.
Would an atheist walk into a church and say God doesn’t exist? No, but anti-maskers will go anywhere and say COVID fears are unfounded even though it’s clear those fears are justified.
I’m scared to death of people who don’t wear masks in public. I don’t want to die because of one of them; I don’t want any family members to die because of one of them but that’s a fear we all have to live with because some won’t acknowledge the seriousness of the pandemic.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta put on Twitter recently a graphic that shows how effective masks and social distancing can be.
In the course of 10 days a person who doesn’t wear a mask can infect 2.5 people. In 60 days, that single person can infect a whopping 406 people. That’s one person!
By wearing a mask, one person in 10 days may infect only 1.5 people and in 60 days that spread only reaches 15.
Through wearing a mask and social-distancing, the total after 60 days is a mere 2.5 people.
When you consider how many people won’t wear masks, the numbers being infected is mind-boggling. And those infections are preventable! People just need to don a mask when they’re in public.
I wear one much of the day at work thanks to the recent spread of COVID in Alberta even though nobody sits near me. I’m asthmatic, and a mask doesn’t bother me in the slightest.
Sure, the pain around the ears is a bit annoying but being annoyed is better than being dead!
We all have a choice to make: be part of the solution or be part of the problem. If we are going to survive this pandemic, all of us need to help out. And we do that by wearing a mask to keep ourselves and the people around us safe.
I hope those who refuse never have to watch from a distance as one of their loved ones die simply because the antimasker didn’t want to live in fear or felt his or her rights were being stepped on. Think about the person dying.
Think about those who have lost children, spouses or parents.
Please think of others. We can beat this but we need to work together. Wearing a mask is not a burden; it is a responsibility to humanity.
Please put on a mask before you kill your child or mine!
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