OPINION: Are masks here to stay?
Graphic by Alejandro Figueroa.
Opinion editor Charlotte Caldwell, a junior studying journalism, argues that mask-wearing should still be enforced, even with a potential end to the pandemic on the horizon, and that making mask-wearing a norm after the pandemic should be taken into consideration.
Please note that these views and opinions do not reflect those of The New Political.
Flashback to early 2020. Many people did not understand the importance of face masks, and masks were not yet enforced. Everyone was still dreaming of a future where, a couple of months from then, the virus would somehow vanish like the seasonal flu, and everything would go back to normal.
Full disclaimer: I was one of those people. I have since learned about the importance of masks and feel that masks should still be mandated and enforced.
Wearing masks to stop the spread of viruses — and the inevitable group of people who deny masks’ importance — is nothing new.
Think as far back as doctors in the Middle Ages wearing beak-like masks to protect themselves from the bubonic plague.
During World War I in the U.S., more research was done to address the importance of masks in a medical setting. Even then, head physicians continued to disregard the use of masks and rubber gloves because they were “irritating.”
Eleven U.S. states never required face coverings during COVID-19, while six states will end or have already ended their mask mandates. Most likely, millions of people are not wearing masks, and that is not including the states where masks are still required, but people refuse to abide by it.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who was a pioneer during early COVID-19 mandates and restrictions, has taken a more logical approach to the mask mandate by previously stating that it will be lifted once the state reaches 50 cases per 100,000 people. Ohio has not been close to reaching this goal, with the number rising from 144 to 200 cases per 100,000 people the past four weeks.
Although DeWine’s decisions should be the gold standard for what we should be doing to stop the virus, his insistence on keeping the mandates differs from other Republican governors, and he may be risking his chances of re-election in the mostly red state.
The state’s increased COVID-19 cases could be due to the five variants that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified in the U.S. The CDC said these variants could spread more quickly and easily than other variants, and it is still researching how these variants will affect existing vaccines. Combine this with the one in four Americans who said they would refuse a vaccine — leaving the idea of herd immunity out of reach — and continuing to mandate masks becomes more important than ever.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that Americans might still need to wear masks into 2022 to help keep cases down, even if a sense of normalcy returns. Some are even speculating the possibility of masks being here to stay in the future in certain situations, like in crowded spaces and during flu season.
Considering some groups of people have already been masking up since before the pandemic, including immunocompromised people and citizens in some countries in Asia, continued mask-wearing after the pandemic is not that hard to envision.
Like any mandate or suggestion, there will always be people who think their rights are being violated and will resist, but for everyone else willing to try to make a difference, masks could make the spread of some viruses less likely, creating healthier communities in the long-run.
