Wearing a mask – any excuse will do…

Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen an impressive array of excuses on Facebook for refusing to wear a face mask – which we call a ‘bavette’ here. I suppose it’s the same everywhere? (Except in well-disciplined countries like Germany?)

Nevertheless, I find them particularly appealing in a Muslim country, where women have often worn a traditional veil over their faces, "above" or "below" the nose, as many people here do.

It’s difficult to breathe through it; there’s a risk of hypoxia

No, there’s no risk of dying from hypoxia. Just think of surgeons who operate whilst wearing a mask for 8 to 10 hours, under the heat of the lamp above the operating table.

I have asthma; I find it hard to breathe

Believe me, you’ll find it even harder to breathe once you’ve caught Covid and are on a ventilator.

It’s hard to wear a mask whilst doing sport – you get too hot

And why do you think outdoor sport was banned during lockdown?

It’s bad for your skin; you might get acnea

Oh dear, my skin is sooooooo sore. There’s this brilliant stuff called ‘protective creams’, like Nivea and the like… And have you ever felt that pain from the ventilator?

It’s bad for social relationships; we lose non-verbal communication

Yes, I know. But why is it only a problem now, and not in all those other cases?

It’s pointless – it doesn’t filter out particles as small as the virus

No, it doesn’t stop you from breathing in a virus that’s floating around in the air. It stops you from spreading it. The mask filters out the moisture and droplets that we emit when we breathe, speak, and so on, and which carry the virus. So the mask protects others, and if everyone wears one, we’re all protected by everyone else.

Shut up, you bloody idiot, I’ll do what I want

A response full of kindness and courtesy that I received from a customer at Marjane when I politely asked him to wear his mask whilst he was leaning over the meat counter. Of course, no one around me objected.

So I’m going to take the liberty of republishing a post here that has gone viral on Facebook. I traced it back to the source to check its authenticity. Sam Laucks does indeed exist; he’s been on Facebook for several years, and his older posts, which date back quite a long time, prove that he did indeed practise medicine. According to my research, he is a retired oncologist. All this to say that it’s not a hoax!

I have spent the past 39 years working in the field of surgery. For a significant part of that time, I have worn a mask. I have worked with hundreds (probably thousands) of colleagues during those years, who have also worn masks. Not a single one us of became ill, passed out or died from lack of oxygen. Not a single one of us became ill, passed out or died from breathing too much carbon dioxide. Not a single one us of became ill, passed out or died from rebreathing a little of our own exhaled air. Let’s begin here by putting those scare tactics to rest!

 

(It is true that some people, with advanced lung diseases, may be so fragile that a mask could make their already-tenuous breathing more difficult. If your lungs are that bad, you probably shouldn’t be going out in public at the present time anyway; the consequences if you are exposed to Covid-19 would likely be devastating.)

 

“But”, you ask, “can’t viruses go right through the mask, because they are so small?” (“Masks keep viruses out just as well as a chain link fence keeps mosquitoes out,” some tell us.)

It is true that individual virus particles can pass through the pores of a mask; however, viruses don’t move on their own. They do not fly across the room like a mosquito, wiggle through your mask like a worm, or fly up your nose like a gnat. The virus is essentially nothing more than a tiny blob of genetic material. Covid-19 travels in a CARRIER – the carrier is a fluid droplet- fluid droplets that you expel when you cough, sneeze, sing, laugh, talk or simply exhale. Most of your fluid droplets will be stopped from entering the air in the room if you are wearing a mask.

 

Wearing a mask is a very efficient way to protect others if you are carrying the virus (even if you don’t know that you are infected). In addition, if someone else’s fluid droplets happen to land on your mask, many of them will not pass through. This gives the wearer some additional protection, too.

 

But, the main reason to wear a mask is to PROTECT OTHERS. Even if you don’t care about yourself, wear your mask to protect your neighbors, co-workers and friends!

 

A mask is certainly not 100% protective. However, it appears that the severity of Covid-19 infection is at least partially “dose-dependent.” In other words, the more virus particles that enter your body, the sicker you are likely to become. Why not decrease that volume if you can? “What have you got to lose?!”

 

“But doesn’t a requirement or a request to wear a mask violate my constitutional rights?”

You’re also not allowed to go into the grocery store if you are not wearing pants. You can’t yell “fire” in the Produce Department. You’re not allowed to urinate on the floor in the Frozen Food Section. Do you object to those restrictions? Rules, established for the common good, are component of a civilized society.

 

“But aren’t masks uncomfortable?” Some would say that underwear or shoes can be uncomfortable, but we still wear them. (Actually, being on a ventilator is pretty darned uncomfortable, too!) Are masks really so bad that you can’t tolerate them, even if they will help keep others healthy?

 

“But won’t people think I’m a snowflake or a wimp if I wear a mask?” I hope you have enough self-confidence to overcome that.

 

“But won’t I look stupid if I wear a mask?” I’ve decided not to dignify that question with an answer!!

 

“But I never get sick; I’m not worried.” Well, then, wear a mask for the sake of the rest of us who are not so perfect!

There is good evidence that masks make a real difference in diminishing the transmission of Covid-19. Please, for the sake of others (and for the sake of yourself), wear your mask when in public. It won’t kill you!

 

P.S. – And, by the way, please be sure that BOTH your nose and mouth are covered!

And to think that at the start of the pandemic we had to ration face masks, and that Moroccan companies started manufacturing them… That’ll come in handy next time!

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