The Mask

Or, one way the government taught us to not trust it.

Recently I was talking with a friend who mentioned that a coworker always wore a mask.  We speculated why that would be and then realized that the coworker’s spouse was fighting cancer and it made total sense.

In my libertarian view of the world, if you want to wear a mask, have at it, especially if it gives you comfort.  I suppose that’s why we see folks driving in a car by themselves and wearing a mask.  Or walking alone on the beach, but wearing a mask.

But just don’t force me to wear one!

Four years ago, we were forced.  We were forced into doing a lot of silly things.  Here in Bethany Beach, we couldn’t walk on the boardwalk or walk the beach.  The grocery store had one-way aisles.  In restaurants you needed to wear a mask to go to and from your table, but you didn’t always need to wear one at the table.  Or you needed to wear a mask at the table but could pull it down to take a bite of food.  Silliness.

Children developed speech impediments or suffered developmental setbacks because they couldn’t see the lips of speakers.  The hard of hearing or the deaf couldn’t read lips.

There were so many negatives to masks.  I think now we know better.

Just to remind everyone, here’s a timeline of how the CDC constantly changed the rules.

February 29, 2020

U.S.  Surgeon General Dr.  Jerome Adams tweets that wearing a face mask will not prevent the public from contracting the novel coronavirus.

“Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS!” he wrote in a tweet that was later deleted.  “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can't get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!”

March 24, 2020

As the coronavirus spreads across the United States, the CDC’s advice around masking remains unequivocal: Healthy people who do not work in the healthcare sector and are not taking care of an infected person at home do not need to wear masks.

“Facemasks may be in short supply and they should be saved for caregivers,” the government agency says.

April 3, 2020

After insisting for weeks that healthy people did not need to wear masks in most circumstances, federal health officials change their guidance in response to a growing body of evidence that people who do not appear to be sick are playing an outsize role in the COVID-19 pandemic. Huh?

The new guidelines recommended masks for all people over age two who were in a public setting, traveling or around others in the same household who might be infected.

July 14, 2020

The CDC publishes a study that finds masking to be a "likely contributing factor" for preventing two coronavirus-positive employees of a Missouri hair salon from infecting any of the 139 clients they served.

“I think we’re being very clear now,” says Dr.  Robert Redfield, director of the CDC.  “Now’s the time to wear a mask.”

He added that the U.S. could get the COVID-19 pandemic under control in one or two months if every American wore a mask.

September 15, 2020

The CDC releases color-coded guidelines to help local communities think through when it is safe to open schools for in-person learning.  Even among schools with the lowest risk of community transmission, masking remains an important part of the CDC’s guidelines for opening schools safely.

October 23, 2020

Scientists report that if 95% Americans wore face masks when they left their homes, they could save well over 100,000 lives — and perhaps more than half a million — through the end of February.  (Note: this was never proven.)

January 20, 2021

On his first day as president, Joe Biden signs an executive order requiring masking and physical distancing in federal buildings, on federal lands, and by government contractors.

January 21, 2021

Biden signs 10 executive orders aimed at jump-starting his national COVID-19 strategy, including one that requires Americans to mask up for travel.  The new rule applies to airports and planes, ships, intercity buses, trains and public transportation.

January 30, 2021

The CDC issues an order requiring travelers on airplanes and those using public transportation such as buses and subways to wear face masks to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The order makes refusal to wear a mask a violation of federal law, enforceable by the Transportation Security Administration and other federal, state and local authorities.

March 8, 2021

The CDC releases new guidelines allowing Americans who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to shed their masks while visiting with others in small indoor gatherings.  Social distancing isn't needed either, the guidelines say.

The agency still recommends all people — vaccinated or not — remain masked when out in public.

April 27, 2021

As coronavirus cases drop, the CDC releases new guidance saying that people do not need to wear masks outdoors when they walk, bike or run alone or with members of their household.  This applies regardless of vaccination status.

In addition, the agency says fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to wear masks outdoors at all unless they are in a big crowd of strangers, such as a sporting event or an outdoor concert.

But the CDC still recommends that unvaccinated people continue to wear masks at outdoor gatherings that include other unvaccinated people.

May 13, 2021

As the United States continues to see dramatic improvements in coronavirus case numbers, federal officials announce a sweeping relaxation of face mask guidelines that allow fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks in most places — either outdoors or inside.

Under the federal guidance, unvaccinated or partly vaccinated people are still asked to wear masks in almost all indoor settings and most outdoor venues when interacting with people from outside their household who may not be vaccinated.

July 27, 2021

With the highly transmissible Delta variant fueling yet another increase in coronavirus cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, the CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the coronavirus is surging.

January 14, 2022

CDC updates consumer mask website to emphasize protection, fit, and comfort.  “It is important to remember that any mask is better than no mask.”

March 5, 2024

For the first time since 2021 the CDC updates its COVID isolation guidance.  The updated guidance from the CDC is to “stay home and away from others (including people you live with who are not sick) if you have respiratory virus symptoms that aren't better explained by another cause.”

There is no mention of masking.

* * *

So, in the course of four years, we’ve gone from masks are unnecessary to masks are required by federal law to masks aren’t required.

All this with no proof that masks offered any serious benefit.