Wearing of masks up for debate
Central Floridians take sides on whether they are necessary
CENTRAL FLORIDA — Wearing a mask is a must for Jonathan Greene. His immunodeficiency decided that for him.
“If I were to get pneumonia like people with [COVID-19] do, I would probably die,” said Greene, 49, of Winter Springs.
But Angela Eakman, 56, of Chuluota, thinks businesses forcing people to wear masks is “draconian.” She and her husband don’t wear masks when they leave the house and have been “back to normal” in terms of going out in public.
“If you’re healthy, I don’t think it’s something you should be terribly worried about,” she said.
As face masks are becoming more common in public places, Central Floridians are taking sides on whether they are necessary.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people wear a face mask nearby others, even if they don’t feel sick. It also encourages people to avoid large groups, wash their hands and disinfect surfaces regularly.
In Central Florida, people are not required to wear masks in public, but local officials strongly encourage the practice.
Nationwide protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement which call for law enforcement reform have drawn out large crowds of people in public spaces. At a recent press conference, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said he’s seen most demonstrators wearing masks — but risks remain.
“I can’t imagine with a gathering of 4 or 5,000 people, that there aren’t some people in that group that would test positive if they were tested,” Dyer said.
A Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project survey conducted mid-May on nearly 5,000 Americans found four out of five Americans, or 84%, said they have worn a mask in public to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Ninety percent of Americans 65 and older say they’ve worn a mask while 78% of those 18 to 29 said they have. Eighty-one percent of Republicans and 89% of Democrats said they have worn a mask in public.
Businesses have varying policies and requirements for their customers.
Costco requires customers and employees to wear face masks while in the store, according to a statement posted on the store’s website. The requirement doesn’t include children under the age of 2 or those with medical conditions who can’t wear one.
“Although some may disagree with this policy or question its effectiveness, we’re choosing to err on the side of safety in our shopping environments,” Costco president and CEO Craig Jelinek said in a statement.
At Waterford Town Center, usually bustling with locals dining or shopping, on a recent afternoon was mostly empty of people, with some stores yet to reopen. Those that were, such as T.J. Maxx, were plastered with signs strongly encouraging masks to be worn in stores. Other stores didn’t require masks to enter, but employees themselves wore masks.
Other places set up tents outside as points-of-sale, with limited employees.
People walked in and out of the open shops alone or in pairs, but rarely in groups. Most wore cloth masks while others carried on without a facial barrier.
At Kyle’s Bike Shop in Orlando’s Milk District, employees and customers are not required to wear masks, said co-owner Darren Gray. But the business does limit the amount of people who can come in and adhere to social distancing.
“We listen to the CDC and looked at our industry, nationally and what they were doing,” he said.
With the theme parks reopening in phases, Magic Kingdom and Universal are requiring masks to be worn. But people are speaking out against this, arguing wearing a face covering for hours in the Florida summer heat is unrealistic. Universal has established rest areas where people can remove their masks.
Matt Roseboom, 50, who lives in the Dr. Phillips area and is the owner of Attractions Magazine, said he supports people wearing masks at theme parks. He visited Universal Studios when it reopened and said there’s plenty of room to social distance, and the mask wasn’t a hassle.
He suggests finding a mask that’s comfortable for all-day wear and even bringing extra ones, just in case.
“Most people are taking it serious and most people are following the rules,” he said.
And while protests have been going on in Central Florida and across the country in response to the Minneapolis death of George Floyd, masks have been a common sight. At downtown Orlando protests most people have appeared to be masked, and flyers promoting demonstrations have urged those who attend to do so in a mask.
Social media and public figures also play a role in guiding people’s feelings about masks.
For instance, Vice President Mike Pence didn’t wear a mask during a visit to the Mayo Clinic in early May, Benton said. He has since worn a mask at other events, but he and Gov. Ron
DeSantis were without masks when Pence stopped at Beth’s Burger Bar during a recent visit to Orlando.
And President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly likened the new coronavirus to the flu, recently quipped about a reporter not removing his mask to ask a question.
“You want to be politically correct,” he said.
Eakman, the Chuluota woman who says wearing a mask isn’t necessary, agrees with the president that coronavirus isn’t much worse than the flu.
“We’re over-killing everything here,” she said.
However, medical experts say there are several significant differences between COVID-19 and seasonal flu that support additional precautions. The virus spreads more easily than typical flu. Also, because the virus is new, there are no established treatments or vaccines.
The ideology of maskwearing transcends partisan politics, said J. Edwin Benton, a political science professor at the University of South Florida. For instance, a local official with a public safety or health background will probably be more eager to adhere to safety protocols, regardless of party affiliation.
But there does tend to be a divide in how people view the virus based on political beliefs, whether they realize it or not, he said.
Those who tend to follow more Republican ideologies may identify with a “tough guy” image and may also place a higher priority on the economy to returning to normal, even at the risk of the virus spreading, he said.
Those who follow more liberal ideologies tend to be more focused on the welfare of the general public and, in the context of the pandemic, want longer lockdowns and to take fewer chances, he said.
“Perhaps, subconsciously, people have that makeup to choose one party, he said. “That could be an underlying current but it doesn’t consciously come out as political.”
Erika Wassell, 48, who lives in Orlando’s Mills 50 area and has a compromised immune system because of lupus, said the pandemic left her isolated and stressed. She gets her groceries delivered, cooks at home and only leaves to take a walk around the neighborhood.
“It’s very frustrating because I know that nobody willingly wants to put other people at risk, but for some reason people are at some sort of level of denial,” she said.
She’s doing whatever she can to remain healthy. It saddens her to see people going about their day in public seemingly oblivious to the seriousness of the virus.
“The mask isn’t for you,” she said. “The mask is for everyone around you.”