It seems to be one of the burning questions of the day: Should you wear a mask because of Covid-19? First they told us not to, then they said we should. What gives?
Why They Told Us Not To Wear A Mask
When the Covid-19 global pandemic began, we were told not to wear masks. Well, more specifically, “if you are not sick, don’t wear a mask”. There were several reasons behind this. The first reason was that we needed to save masks for the people that really needed them and didn’t want another toilet paper situation on our hands.
The next reason that they told you not to wear masks is because Covid-19 is not thought to be airborne. Now let us clear this up a bit. Covid-19 can be spread through water droplets that you can breathe out. However, these droplets are heavy and fall to the ground (or other surfaces) in about 2 feet. When I say “airborne” I am talking about particles that are so small they can be carried around in the breeze for hundreds of feet. Covid-19 is not that. The virus is not airborne using the scientific definition.
However, the scientific community has always said that if you are sick, you should wear a mask to minimize the amount of droplets you spread on to the environment around you.
Now They Say You Should Wear A Mask
More and more places are now requiring everyone to wear a mask. Not only places like airlines, but also cities like San Diego and states like Illinois.
So what changed?
As far as whether or not Covid-19 is airborne, nothing. What changed is that recent antibody studies seem to suggest that a majority of the people who get Covid-19 never get sick. This has 2 implications. The first is that far more people have been infected then we previously thought (making the mortality rate much lower), and 2nd is that a lot of people are currently infected without knowing it. Since we already said masks are for people that have Covid-19, and we now know that a lot of people have Covid-19 and do not know it, it makes sense to tell everyone to wear a mask.
Should I Wear A Mask?
As more and more evidence come out that Covid-19 is not as dangerous as everyone though, many people are saying “If it isn’t dangerous to me, I don’t need to wear a mask”. Other people insist that it may not be dangerous to you, but you may have it and not know it, so you don’t want to give it to someone that it may be dangerous for. Therefore, wearing a mask is the neighborly thing to do.
What side of the debate should you be on?
I say: Wear A Mask. I think you would be foolish not too. Of course, I say this not for concern of Covid-19, No I say this because of facial recognition technology. Remember that? It wasn’t too long ago that there were major concerns being raised over the use of facial recognition technology and it’s implication on privacy. With Covid-19, we are seeing drones being used to enforce lockdowns and GPS being used to trace where you go and who you come in contact with. Do you really think facial recognition isn’t being expanded by Covid-19?
But now you have an excuse to wear a mask. Heck, this excuse can go on for years… and they are encouraging it! Remember, it wasn’t very long ago that places were arresting you for wearing a mask in public. Now you are allowed. Don’t give up this opportunity to throw a wrench in the facial recognition tracking systems.
