If You Are Planning To Participate in ‘No Mask Day’ Tomorrow, Please Think Again

Lately, it seems like everyone has forgotten that we are in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic.

As frustrated as we might feel about staying home and following all of the new safety regulations, following the rules is a much better alternative to getting sick or dying. There’s still no vaccine or cure for COVID-19, so following safety protocols can mean the difference between life and death. 

Unfortunately, that’s just what some people are doing. On Facebook, CT Liberty Rally created an event to end all mask orders. The protest encourages Americans to not wear masks anywhere on Saturday, June 20th. But that’s not the worst part – the event has been shared more than 300,000 times.

I fully believe that there are appropriate situations to protest, like George Floyd’s tragic death. But right now, wearing masks benefits everyone in America. Therefore, any event that discourages mask-wearing poses a huge problem for this country and is incredibly selfish.

I understand that wearing masks all the time can be frustrating, but it’s for your safety and the safety of others. Just because you don’t feel sick doesn’t mean that you don’t carry COVID-19. Even if you don’t have a severe case of the virus, you can still spread a fatal case to someone else. 

Plus, we haven’t even made it through the first wave of the pandemic, so we don’t we have the ability to simply decide that the pandemic is over. Since the state of California – where I live – has reopened the number of confirmed cases has spiked on a daily basis. And it’s the same across the country. Texas just reported a record number of Coronavirus hospitalizations. And Arizona, Florida, and Oklahoma also report their highest numbers of COVID-19 cases thus far.

Furthermore, being young doesn’t mean that you can get away with not wearing a mask.

This virus has killed otherwise healthy children and teenagers. Research shows that COVID-19 is also linked to strokes in younger people. Therefore, why anyone would support a movement that discourages necessary protection from this virus is beyond me. 

Just in case I haven’t made myself clear, let me emphasize that wearing masks is for your own protection. Wearing a mask really does work wonders in halting the transmission of the virus. This week, a Missouri hairstylist directly exposed 84 customers to COVID-19, but because she wore a face mask at work, none of her customers caught the virus. 

So if you plan to participate in No Mask Day this weekend, I ask you to think long and hard about your decision. Is wearing a mask such an inconvenience to you that you’re willing to risk your own life and the lives of others just to feel free? Before you publicly protest without your face mask, choose wisely.

Featured Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash.