Listen, we get it. A mask is another thing we all have to remember as we leave our houses to go anywhere these days—along with our keys, wallet and phone, of course. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that it’s not a little bit of an inconvenience when you’re rushing to get somewhere.
However, it’s an inconvenience that saves lives.
I started working at a Metro in my hometown not all too long ago—after the restaurant where I had been hosting shut down due to COVID-19. As a Carleton student entering her second year of school, I needed to make some money, and ultimately, a grocery store was my best bet.
Working at Metro also means consistently putting myself at a higher risk of contracting the virus—just like nurses, first responders, and any other frontline workers. What I fail to understand is how people can complain about wearing a mask if it is proven to help keep people safe and reduce the spread of COVID-19?
According to the University of California San Francisco’s article on masks, where researchers spoke with epidemiologist George Rutherford, and infectious disease specialist Peter Chin-Hong, there is evidence supporting the fact that masks prevent the spread of COVID-19. The article mentions a case in late May where two hairstylists sick with COVID-19 came into contact with 140 clients. The case reports that everyone wore a mask and none of the clients contracted the illness.
The science shows that cloth masks help to block hundreds of respiratory droplets released from the mouth after speaking—a significant way that the virus is spread so quickly and easily.
An experiment published in the New England Journal of Medicine involving these water droplets discussed how they can harbour infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Video clips of the experiment depict a person saying the phrase “stay healthy” with and without a mask to show the number of water droplets produced into the air. There is a significant decrease in droplets when the speaker is wearing a mask.
I am a firm believer that choosing not to wear a mask (when you are able) is a selfish decision. I say this as someone who has to wear a mask for anywhere from five to eight hours a day during 20 to 30 hour work weeks.
Sure, wearing a mask may make your ears a little “uncomfortable” sometimes or tickle your nose a little bit, but if the grocery store employees who prepare and sell you your food, doctors and nurses who help ensure you are healthy, restaurant staff who serve you your drinks and make your appetizers, and even small children can wear masks all day, you can wear a mask for the hour that you’re in the grocery store.
When I nod along and listen to your complaints about masks whilst scanning and bagging your cereal boxes, no, I really don’t care, I just want to keep my job. Don’t be selfish, wear a mask. It’s simple.
Featured image by Tim Austen.
