Patriots Wear Masks

Contrary to what my wife may have you believe, I can admit when I am wrong. Last May, before the United States tallied its 100,000th death caused by Covid-19, I predicted that 200,000 Americans would be lost to this virus by Labor Day. Well, friends, I was wrong. 

According to the pandemic tracker on the Fox News website, which takes information provided by the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and the National Institutes of Health, the actual number of mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters in the United States who died by Labor Day as a result of contracting the novel coronavirus was just under 190,000. I was wrong, but not by much.

Though Boone County has only lost seven people to this disease so far, the number of new cases and new hospitalizations is increasing faster here than anywhere else in the state of Missouri. Why?

People are not doing enough to prevent the spread of the virus. The White House coronavirus task force has recommended that Missouri’s governor issue a statewide mask ordinance, yet Governor Parson refuses to issue such an order. Though Columbia has issued a mask ordinance, many returning college students and people who feel like a mandatory mask order is an attack on liberty are not doing their part to slow the spread of the virus.

Even the most diligent mask wearers can contract the virus if they let down their guard, but at least they are making an effort. Too many others refuse to wear masks and say, “I’m young and healthy, it won’t kill me.” That may be true, but it has killed almost 200,000 people in this country since February.

 

Some point to the recent clarification by the CDC that said only 6% of those deaths were caused solely by Covid-19, ignoring the fact that Covid-19 was a contributing factor in the other 94% of those deaths in which patients also suffered from a pre-existing health issue. It’s called comorbidity. Look it up. Make no mistake, those people were living with those health issues, some for years, until the coronavirus killed them.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington uses a model cited by the White House and medical experts that predicts the course of the pandemic. That model now predicts that by January 1, 2021, a total of 410,451 Americans will have died of Covid-19.

 

Naysayers will argue that the only people at risk are the elderly and those with previous health issues, so they shouldn’t have to wear a mask or skip that fraternity party. The families of 410,000 dead Americans will say to them, if you had worn your mask and skipped that kegger last month, maybe my loved-one would not have caught the virus from the person you unknowingly spread it to. By the way, the sick and elderly are people, too, and their lives (and deaths) matter just as much as a young and healthy person’s.

Please don’t tell me, “But I have a medical condition. I can’t breathe when I wear a mask.” Baloney. I have been diagnosed with severe asthma and acute anxiety caused by bipolar disorder. If I can wear a mask for eight hours at work, then you can wear one for a few minutes when you go grocery shopping or interact with your server at your favorite restaurant. Yes, you can. Yes, you absolutely can.

The White House task force has also recommended that Missouri and other states experiencing a surge in new cases completely close bars in order to slow the spread. In Columbia, bars are closing at 10:00 pm, which is a step in the right direction, but it ignores the fact that large gatherings of unrelated, unmasked day-drinkers and fans of happy-hour are taking place in the crowded college town from morning till night. Again, the governor is unwilling to follow the White House’s recommendation to order the closing of these disease-spreading bars.

A friend told me she was opposed to mandates because people should have the decency and common sense to follow the mask and social distancing recommendations simply because they are the right things to do. Unfortunately, people are proving at every turn that they are unwilling to do things that make them uncomfortable—even when it would be the right thing to do.

I want this school year to be in-person, all year long. As a teacher, I need to interact with my students and coworkers face-to-face. Kids need that interaction, too. If we can’t slow the exponential spread of the coronavirus until an effective vaccine can be developed and approved for use, then I fear officials will have no choice but to order schools to “go virtual” in order to keep teachers, staffers, students, and their family members as safe as possible.

Until the never-maskers and Covid-deniers accept the reality of the seriousness of this pandemic, the shocking number of predicted deaths by New Year’s may prove to be an underestimate. I hope I’m wrong. I truly do.

Let’s all do our part to prevent the unnecessary deaths and illnesses of our fellow Americans. Do not attend large gatherings of people. Wash your hands often. And wear a mask. If you call yourself a patriot, then please do these simple but necessary things for your country and your countrymen. 

Patriots wear masks.