Thank you Brian Mittge for your well-worded, science-supported and community-centered op-ed in last week’s Reflector titled "A matter of life and breath."
I want to share a story that reflects your "simple good neighborliness and citizenship" values of "don't cut ahead of others in line, stop your car and smile as you wave pedestrians across crosswalks, and wear masks in public to slow the spread of this virus and show you care for others."
I have a family member who has health compromising disabilities whose spouse contracted COVID-19 in early June. They live in a small 600-ish square foot apartment in Vancouver. Getting sick with this virus could have had significant health implications for my loved one. However, because of them separating themselves in their tiny space, increasing hygiene and more importantly both wearing masks (primarily cloth) anytime the spouse left the bedroom, my family member has remained not just symptom free, but COVID-free for over three weeks until the infected spouse finally received the final negative test just this weekend.
It was a phone call that we shared in happy celebratory tears rather than the fearful, anxiety-ridden tears of the previous three weeks worth of conversations at all hours of the days and nights.
Masks work! But not just masks alone! We still need to distance as much as possible. And we need to think about hygiene in different ways than before. It's not only just for after using the bathroom. Wash before and after wearing your mask. If you have guests over, don't hang out in the house. If you are less than 10 feet away from someone outside of your household, don your mask until you're safely out of that bubble.
If you have a household member with any signs of any illness, wear masks until you know what you're dealing with. If it's COVID, seclude the positive member in their own space and wear masks and disinfect every surface often. It's possible to live, work and grow the economy in this pandemic. We just have to do it smartly for our fellow loved ones and the greater community. Wearing a mask is not about infringements on anyone's rights. It's a personal statement that wearing your mask shows you care for me as much as me wearing my mask shows I care just as much for you.
Let's show our love for ourselves and our community by wearing our masks every time we leave our houses! It's the only line of defense we have until a vaccine is made and distributed enough to reach herd immunity status.
