I’ve avoided wading into the wearing of masks fray because I know that it’s controversial and has the potential to erupt into another nasty conversation on Facebook similar to the one provoked by my “redneck thinking” post back in April, but I can’t stay silent any longer. I am absolutely mind boggled that this is even an area of debate! Are people so stressed and so unhappy these days that they will jump at any reason to protest?

In an attempt to understand this controversy, we need to back up several months. In the very early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, public health officials thought that the virus was primarily transmitted by people touching contaminated surfaces and then their faces. Frequent hand washing, the use of hand sanitizers, and refraining from touching your face were thought to be the best ways to prevent its spread. At first, both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that wearing masks was unnecessary. As time progressed, however, and more was learned about this new virus, it became clear that this early thinking was inaccurate. Instead, researchers now realize that Covid-19 is primarily spread by inhaling virus-laden droplets expelled by an infected person. As time passed and studies were conducted, it also became clear that people can transmit the virus before they begin to experience symptoms and, in fact, that some people who remain asymptomatic are actually contagious. These factors explain the more recent recommendation that people wear masks in public, especially in situations where it’s difficult to maintain distance between one another. Perhaps changing advice midstream led to confusion and fuelled the anti mask movement, but I think that there are also other reasons why it’s become necessary for many businesses and municipalities to make wearing masks in public spaces mandatory.

Denial is clearly at the root of some people’s refusal. In spite of all the information to the contrary, there are still those who refuse to accept the severity of this worldwide plague. Conspiracy theories abound and negative voices question the research and the data that it presents.

At the individual level, some people protest that their personal rights and freedoms are being infringed upon when they’re told that they must cover their mouths and noses. They selfishly choose to put personal comfort above the welfare of others. We all know that wearing a mask isn’t particularly comfortable. If you’re a glasses wearer, as I am, there’s the added frustration of fogged up lenses, although I’ve discovered that folding a Kleenex (tissue) into a strip and placing it across the bridge of my nose under the top edge of the mask helps a lot. I don’t like wearing a mask any more than anyone else does, but I wear one because I don’t walk this planet alone and I don’t want to take a chance on unknowingly passing a deadly virus to someone else, particularly one of the more vulnerable amongst us. As my specialist put it so succinctly when we discussed the topic at my appointment yesterday, “In our culture, too many people think only about their rights and freedoms while forgetting that we also have responsibilities.” In Genesis 4:1-12 and elsewhere throughout scripture, God answers the question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” with a resounding YES! Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” The second is to “Love your neighbour as yourself.” In the days of Covid-19, loving your neighbour often involves wearing a mask!

Some of the excuses that I’ve heard for not wearing masks are absolutely ludicrous.

• Wearing masks causes oxygen deprivation or carbon dioxide poisoning or similarly, rebreathing dirty moist air will make me sick. In reality, the fibres that cloth and surgical type masks are made from aren’t dense enough to block the exchange of gases and air can also get in around the edges. The only time that this excuse might be considered legitimate would be during strenuous exercise. If this is a concern, exercise outdoors instead of in a gym and maintain distance from people who aren’t part of your household or “bubble”.
• The mask prevents communication. Sound passes easily through masks! This is only a legitimate concern for those who are hearing impaired and who depend on lip reading. Masks with clear panels are available for those who interact regularly with someone for whom this is an actual problem.
• Masks hide our beautiful smiles. The world will survive without your beautiful smile until this pandemic eventually comes to an end!

And then there’s the one that I’ve seen circulating around on Facebook since our province announced that masks will be required in schools for students from grade 4 to 12. Masks make children unidentifiable and assist in human trafficking! Now that’s really grasping at straws! There is absolutely no question that human trafficking is an incredibly heinous crime and far more prevalent that most people are aware of or willing to admit, but to make the wearing of masks about human trafficking is a ridiculous stretch and an insult to intelligence.

Perhaps living in Asian countries where wearing a mask when you have a simple sniffle has long been a common courtesy has influenced my thinking on this topic, but I’m truly astonished by the tempest that this has created here in North America. As more businesses and municipalities make masks mandatory, the furor increases, but there’s really one simple answer for those who don’t want to comply. If you choose not to wear a mask, stay home!