White House likely to urge citizens to wear masks

4/2/20 5pm CST Update: White House likely to urge citizens to wear masks

The Trump administration is now reportedly formalizing guidance that will recommend that many Americans (if not almost every American) should wear a “face covering” when leaving home.

Reportedly, these recommendations would apply to those who live in areas hardest hit, such as New York City or New Orleans. However, there may also be a widespread recommendation across states or the nation.

There will also be recommendations for exceptions. Some exceptions would be young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or anyone who is unable to remove the covering without help.

There will also be a suggestion to use non-medical masks. Materials like t-shirts or bandanas may be recommended to be used to cover both the nose and the mouth when outside.

A lot of us saw this recommendation coming and so it really is no surprise.

I think it is a great idea but it is just important to remember to not let up on social distancing, washing your hands, and to keep your face covers as sanitary as possible.

If the majority of the population can get on board with face covering, we can speed up the recovery time in this nation and get back to normal quicker.

I’m sure they will be issuing some guidelines on how to properly cover your face once things are finalized which could be in this evening or tomorrow.

H/T

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4/2/20 4pm CST Update: :

The mayor of New York City has now recommended for its citizens to wear face coverings when out in public. The mayor stressed that it does not need to be a professional surgical mask.

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Original post:

Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti is now urging all of his citizens to wear masks when heading out in public for essential needs, such as food.

The trend of requiring or requesting masks to be worn by the public is growing rapidly.

I fully expect that by the end of the week there will be recommendations for lots of cities all around the country, including some other major metropolitan areas.

The way that these recommendations are being issued is happening very differently in some locations.

For example, we have seen one city in Texas require its citizens to wear masks when in public or they will be subject to a $1,000 fine.

That was ordered for a city of 200,000 people which is not exactly a small town but implementing something like that for a city the size of Los Angeles would be a tall order.

There are a few things to take away from these recommendations.

The first is that these measures are not designed to keep you from getting sick but from keeping you from getting others sick.

So wearing a mask will not make you invincible.

Authorities are stating that just about any type of fabric mask will suffice for this purpose. So you can put on a piece of fabric like a bandanna and that will help keep you from spreading potentially harmful viruses.

All the stories are stressing to not go after medical grade masks, especially N95 masks. There is a massive shortage of N95 masks and the last thing that we need is the public rushing to get those.

The other thing to keep in mind is that you should not slack off on physical distancing.

It’s still is as important as ever to keep 6 feet away from other people to prevent spread. It’s also extremely vital to continue to wash your hands at the same rates that you were doing before.

If the majority of the population will wear these masks when out in public we will see a flattened curve and decrease the spread rates. There is science to back this up and I think it will be particularly effective given how the symptoms may not show up in 25% to 50% of carriers.

Add in the fact that coronavirus particles can be spread just by breathing or talking and you can see how these masks could be an effective measures to help us slow down the spread.

The quicker and more drastic we slow down the spread, the quicker we get back to normal.

I think the right call is probably to recommend or strongly urge citizens to wear these things. Citing individuals for misdemeanors seems a bit harsh and extreme, although I understand that in some smaller cities they don’t have the same capacity in the hospitals to take on an outbreak so they have to be extra cautious. 

H/T