Friday, April 3, 2020

Journal of the Plague Months: Vol. 2, No. 2. ... A request that we all mask up

The CDC now recommends that we all wear cloth masks in public. Jared Polis, the governor of Colorado, also says we should wear cloth masks when we leave the house. He even went so far as to say that we could make “cool” masks and have fun making masks out of stuff like old T-shirts, sort of a Romper Room approach to the coronavirus.

But seriously... make a mask, even though the former host of The Apprentice says he won’t be wearing one. Maybe he's worried a mask might mess up his hair.

Of course, we don’t know exactly what wearing a cloth mask will do to protect us or anyone else. Maybe it’s a bit like relying on a straw hat as protection against a falling boulder.

Still, if the CDC thinks I should wear a mask, I will. If it provides even a marginal shot at remaining healthy, it’s worth it. No matter that it’s not of the heavy-duty N95 variety that medical professionals wear, assuming they can find any. Save the heavy artillery for those on the front lines. For us, cloth masks will do.

Early adapter that I am, I wore a cloth mask today while taking my dog for a walk. No one else I saw was wearing a mask, which made me feel a little foolish, but I wanted to do my part.

According to the governor of Colorado, wearing “cool” masks may encourage others to follow suit and mask up. So, let your creative self go. Don’t hold back. Pandemic or no, you gotta be you.

I wonder, though, if there’s a danger that people will think that masks will make them safe. It’s possible that all they will do is make them look weird and deplete their supply of old T-shirts.

Governor Polis's T-shirt suggestion told me that he’s definitely more wealthy entrepreneur than a man of the people.

In my world, there’s no such thing as an old T-shirt. T-shirts aren’t broken in until they’re worn thin, have as many holes as a bad screenplay and boast collars as frayed as our nerve endings after several weeks of isolation. T-shirts aren't broken in until your wife threatens to throw them away if you dare to wear them around the house.

Look, the best advice about dealing with the pandemic boils down to two words: “Stay home.” And when you have to leave the house, be sure to stay six feet away from others.

But wear the mask. It may help and you never know when you’ll be seized by the impulse to rob the afternoon stage. Best of luck.


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