47.8 F
New York
Thursday, March 28, 2024

To Mask Or Not to Mask

Related Articles

-Advertisement-

Must read

By: Lieba Nesis

The mask, formerly associated with Chinese culture, has become a ubiquitous sight in the United States during the past five months.  The CDC was slow to recommend donning a covering declaring in a Twitter post on February 27, 2020, “we do not currently recommend the use of facemasks to prevent novel #coronavirus.”  At a February 12th CDC briefing, spokesperson Dr. Nancy Messonnier declared “we do not recommend masks for the general public. This virus is not spreading in the community.”  Only those acutely ill and health care providers were urged to wear masks. Shockingly negligent for a body that was created for the sole purpose of defending Americans against novel infections.  It wasn’t until April 3 2020, when the death toll had reached 7,000, that the CDC called on people to wear cloth masks to “keep the virus from transmitting to others.”   Recently the CDC has advised wearing masks with two or more layers; that are secured under your chin while covering your nose and mouth; with the caveat that no one under the age of two do so.  It also suggests washing hands before securing the mask, and refraining from touching the mask while on your face.

A significant amount of powerful data has been released exhibiting the utility and necessity of mask wearing.  On May 12, 2020, a hair stylist at Salon “Great Clips” in Springfield Missouri developed symptoms on Day 0 and continued working until Day 8 upon which time the stylist received a positive coronavirus test.  On Day 3 another stylist, exposed to the first, developed symptoms until day 8 and by Day 10 had also tested positive.  A total of 139 clients were directly serviced by these two professionals with haircuts and perms (it is unclear if they washed their hair) with more than 400 people in the salon-none developed symptoms with 67 clients who agreed to be tested receiving negative results.  The salon had strict protocols requiring socially distanced chairs, staggered appointments and most importantly constant mask wearing.  The hair appointments which ranged from 15 to 45 minutes did not result in any Covid victims-a jaw-dropping testament to the protective power of masks.  Another astounding study took place in the South Korean city of Paju on August 8th when an infected woman visited a Starbucks cafe, touched surfaces and tables and sat near the air-conditioning system which spread contagious aerosol particles throughout.  Many of the visitors were unable to wear masks during their coffee drinking resulting in over 27 patrons contracting the virus-who later spread it to 40 others.  However, none of the four employees who were wearing masks during the entirety of their shift became infected.  Another unequivocal example of the necessity of masking.

Governor Cuomo’s mask mandate for those out in public in New York has resulted in a less than 1 Percent infection rate within the past 23 straight days.  Duke University researcher Martin Fischer has reported the best mask to be the Medical N95.  However, the disposal surgical mask, which is less onerous, was nearly as effective in preventing particles from spreading.  A study published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” found that infections were reduced from April 6 to May 9th in Italy by more than 78,000, and in New York City by more than 66,000 from April 17 to May 9th due to face coverings.  They concluded masks “prevent airborne transmissions by blocking atomization and inhalation of virus bearing aerosols” and that mitigation measures such as social distancing and isolation were insufficient if unaccompanied by masks.

While mask wearing has often been framed as a political issue with those supporting Trump preferring to forgo the mask, Joe Biden’s promise to enact a national mask mandate is nearly impossible to enforce.  According to the Orange County Register, under the doctrine of federalism the national government can only exercise discrete powers over interstate commerce, foreign affairs, and taxing and spending on the general welfare.  The duty to promote the public health and safety is left to the states with the federal role limited to providing funds, supplies, technical expertise and controlling borders and interstate traffic.  None of the presidents enumerated powers include mandated face coverings with Congress largely in charge of domestic affairs.

While Congress might be able to require people crossing state lines to wear masks under the “Commerce Clause”; it cannot compel the large percentage of Americans who are not traveling to wear them.  The Constitution designates state governments to protect health, safety and morals under its “police power” thereby making Biden and Harris’s promise of a national mandate empty and misleading.  However, with states continuing their diligent efforts to promote face coverings the necessity for federal oversight is unnecessary.  On July 20th Donald Trump declared the use of face masks a “patriotic” action-a sentiment I could not agree with more.

balance of natureDonate

Latest article

- Advertisement -