Jim’s Story
I went to Ralphs Market this week wearing my mask and gloves and observed at least 300 people roving up and down the aisles, breathing, sneezing, and coughing while they picked up and handled product after product. As I looked around it appeared that I was one of the younger shoppers … I was astounded!
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That’s my story and here is why I was astounded:
Why is a face mask that is proven effective at stopping diseases – not being promoted for general use?
Maybe … Because the government failed to stockpile and had no plan for how to ramp up production, and chose to shame the public into not buying masks instead of being honest. This is the Conspiracy Theorist’s view
There is zero logic behind the government urging healthy people not to wear masks and gloves to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.
Please keep reading.
Why are we supposed to stay 6 ft. away from people?
Why are we supposed avoid congregations of 10 people or more?
Why do doctors, nurses, and medical professionals wear masks?
Why should you wear a mask?
Answer: Because breathing, sneezes, and coughs emit small particles that may contain unhealthy things, like virus.
Why should I clean surfaces with bleach or a 70% alcohol solution?
Why should I wash my hands for 20 seconds?
Why should I not touch my hands to my eyes of face?
Why should I wear gloves in places where I know others have touched or handled surfaces?
Answer: Because the small particles that people breathe, sneezes, and cough end up on surfaces near you.
If you want to reduce your chances of getting Covid-19 or passing it on to someone else you should wear a mask and gloves when you are around people outside your own family.
The logic that the CDC uses is that masks have to be fitted properly to be effective and since we cannot fit them properly then do not use them. It takes less than one minute to learn how to fit an N95 mask (Youtube).
Wear a Mask
The next point used is, ‘Not all masks are effective’. Probably true; however, from experience with the Chinese and Italian health care workers, we learned that the more concentrated the exposure to the virus, the greater the probability of catching it and the greater the intensity of the disease. Any mask is better than no mask, and N95 mask is better than ‘any’ mask and an N100 is better than an N95. Demonstrated by N100 breathers being used in all hazardous Biolabs.
Wear a Mask
Another point of logic they uses is that wearing a mask might encourage one to touch their face more often. I can see that if you affix your mask in a safe location then you might touch your face one additional time when you take it off. To reduce this problem, learn how to take it off without touching your face … that is easy to do.
Wear a Mask
The final point of logic is profoundly illogical:
You should not wear a mask because the medical community around you needs those masks.
If the medical community around you needs masks, why don’t you?
The answer to their need is also very simple … give all the extra masks you have to the medical community around you. And keep one for you and each of your family members.
Our family has donated 90% of the masks that we had stored to St. Judes who has put out a desperate plea for them.
Sharon and I have each kept one mask that we use when we go downstairs to avoid infecting Debbie, should either of us has the virus. Each mask is then saturated in alcohol overnight and it is resurrected for use the next day. (this is the way that St. Judes and other hospitals are using to conserve masks). When I go out, I wear the mask and surgical gloves and take them off and throw them away when I return.
The reason for wearing gloves is so profoundly obvious, I will not attempt to explain.
Wear Gloves
Though you might not be convinced by the fact that the medical community uses masks and gloves, please take a look at the graph below:
From the above, one might argue that Asian societies are different than Western ones in morays and customs. To understand if this is relevant, compare South Korea with its neighbor Japan. Korea was on a Western trajectory until if embraced the wearing of masks when universal testing showed that Covid-19 was everywhere and masks made a difference in infection rates.
The final series of arguments revolve around the psychology of this pandemic:
1. Wear masks and gloves and you will scare people around you.
2. Covid-19 is really no worse than seasonal flu that has killed more people already than Covid-19
3. Covid-19 mortality is only around 1-1.25% so why worry?
4. If we focus on the dangers of Covid-19, the economy will tank.
5. We already have effective treatments with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, so don’t worry.
6. Why worry, everyone will get it, so why don’t I just go ahead and get it now?
7. Fear is your worst enemy.
I would be more than happy to dialog with you about each of these dangerous arguments and supply content for my beliefs.
Each of these arguments has some validity, but the most critical thing for us to remember is that we are older citizens in a nation that has not conducted sufficient testing to determine the extent of the spread. In light of this, I believe we should all embrace a regime that maximizes our safety by using the intelligence God has given and understand that He is sovereign in this and in all things.
These are very simple things to do that may prove to reduce our risk of contracting Covid-19.
I really, really hope that I am wrong, but if not, I feel that I have done everything I can to keep my family safe.