Are you confused about masks? Many people have mixed opinions about masks regarding whether or not they actually work.  Masks are very important to protect people from getting sick and contracting Covid-19. At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a question about if masks would help or not. Even the government officials were confused! However, after many grueling months, the verdict is in and masks do indeed stop the spread of Covid-19.  Therefore, everyone should be wearing masks. Why do you ask? It’s important to stop the community spreading of Covid to stop people from getting sick and to get back to normal life. According to a study from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, social distancing measures alone could still lead to a vast number of deaths. “Specifically, the paper projected that there could be some half a million Covid-19 related deaths in the United States … and that some 130,000 of those tragedies might be forestalled with universal mask use.” In other words, universal mask use could save many lives and stop the spread of Covid. It might be hard sometimes to wear a mask, but it really does help life return to normal. Using the University of Washington’s projections, face coverings can reduce an individual’s risk of infection by about 40%. Wearing masks benefits us way more than we might think, as the article shows.

It’s understandable that it could be very annoying to wear a mask all the time, but we need to think about the future and how we want to stop this virus from getting worse and stop the deaths that are still occurring. The exact numbers are hard to predict, but they can estimate how bad things have gotten because of the virus. The Covid-19 pandemic has been raging throughout the world for over a year now.  Especially in the United States, many people are suffering from quarantine fatigue and becoming more and more relaxed with the Covid-19 guidelines.  In order to protect ourselves, especially those that are at higher risk such as the elderly and individuals with pre-existing health conditions, wearing a mask is essential for beating the virus.

Instead of staying locked in our homes, wearing masks in public is a much more realistic way to slowly reopening the country while maintaining public safety.  Lucky for us, you can personalize your mask! Companies have shifted their production to make cloth masks in a variety of patterns, sports fans can even show support for their favorite teams.  As the number of illnesses is declining, we still need to stay vigilant and wear masks to protect us even if the numbers are going down.

Anna Delossantos – Author