Wear Your Face Mask
I continue to be surprised at how nonchalant many people are with this disease. As most people know, I am an avid cyclist and ride my bike all around Dalla-Fort Worth. I love riding my bike with other fellow cyclists. However, I decided in March that riding with others was somewhat risky since the aerosol cloud behind a rider can extend 65 feet! Even though the probability of contracting COVID-19 is small while cycling, as a healthcare provider why should I risk it? On one of my rides this past weekend I went by one of the many city parks in our area where little league baseball games were in full swing (pardon the pun). Not one player, parent, or spectator was wearing a mask or practicing social distancing.
Face masks are the most efficient method of preventing the spread of the coronavirus, according to a new analysis of infection data from Northern Italy and New York City. The data revealed that mandates for facial coverings in the two epicenters correlated with a drop in the number of new cases by roughly half and two-thirds, respectively, over the time period, studied (see the paper, Fig. 2).
The results align with previous research showing airborne transmission as the most virulent route for new infections. Though spread can occur by direct (via touching) and indirect (via surfaces) means, viral particles have been shown to survive for hours when aerosolized from coughing, sneezing, or even talking in a closed area. Even imperfect facial coverings may prevent such particles from spreading. Still, researchers warn that face mask requirements alone are not sufficient to halt the pandemic.
Anecdotally, no new cases were observed from two Missouri hairdressers who saw 140 clients while sick but had implemented face mask requirements.
Cases have begun to spike in places like Florida and Texas. The US has suffered more cases and deaths due to COVID-19 than any other country. The US has reported 2.1 million total cases, with 117,859 deaths. Some respected epidemiologists expect the number of deaths in the US to double by September 2020. See the three-day rolling average here.
Talk with any frontline healthcare provider and you'll discover how dangerous it is to relax the vigilant procedures set forth in April and May too soon. One expert recently stated that in comparing the COVI-19 pandemic to a baseball game, we're just now in the second inning. Just think about that for a moment.
In early June I was surprised to learn how little Japan was affected by COVID-19. Their culture naturally promotes more respect for each other and are more conscientious of the world, as a whole. Infectious disease outbreaks are common in Asia and consequently, this population naturally is more vigilant with hygiene, social distancing, and wearing masks. If it works there, doesn't it make sense that it would work in the US?
As always, our desire is to provide a safe, clean place to provide premium health and wellness care. We will continue to wear masks in our clinic and we want our clients and patients to honor our request to do so, as well. This is all about being respectful and caring for the wellbeing of each other.
In spite of the widespread relaxation of health recommendations, we continue to do all we can to make sure our office is cleaner than ever before and we're doing our part to be safe for our clients and patients. It really is each of our responsibility to do our part to prevent the proliferation of infection.
