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Masks still hotly debated

Almost a half a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of wearing a mask still being debated
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Almost a half a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of wearing a mask or not is still being debated within society.

While the Canadian discourse has not been as politically charged as it has - and remains - for our southern neighbours, the 100 Mile Free Press’most recent web poll shows people have strong opinions on this issue. Be they pro-mask or anti-mask, people care deeply about this piece of potentially life-saving medical equipment.

What it comes down to is a feeling of control. Since March we’ve all watched the virus spread across the globe, cripple economies and completely reshape the social, business and political landscapes.

Even though many of us have not gotten the virus, we’ve all been impacted by in significant ways, in ways we could not control. Some of us lost our jobs, others our sports and many have been unable to visit family members in fear of spreading the disease.

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What’s worse, as COVID-19 is newly discovered, the things we can do to control the spread have changed over time as our understanding of it becomes more nuanced and we figure out how to respond to it. Data suggests wearing a mask can, at the very least, slow the spread of COVID-19 in public places and will allow us to return to some semblance of normalcy.

Unlike lockdowns and the disease itself, we can control whether or not we wear a mask. Or not. That’s an individual choice but don’t take it out on those who have asked you to wear one, whether it’s in a shop or a restaurant or public transit.

We’ve seen all of this before, 100 years ago. When the Spanish Flu was ravaging the world, one of the things determined to prevent the spread was the wearing of face masks, which also created controversy in North America.

Countries like Japan still have a culture of mask-wearing that started during the Spanish Flu. If you’re sick, you wear a mask. It’s an accepted aspect of life there because people have respect for one another and public health as a whole.

In Canada, we espouse care for one another and that we are ‘better’ than the United States. If you truly believe these two things, then wear a mask - be it out of respect and concern for others or simply respect for whatever business has mandated wearing them. At worst, you endure the irritation of wearing a clammy mask for a few minutes, at best you may just save a life.


newsroom@100milefreepress.net

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Patrick Davies

About the Author: Patrick Davies

An avid lover of theatre, media, and the arts in all its forms, I've enjoyed building my professional reputation in 100 Mile House.
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