Mask on, Mask off

A guard at a Family Dollar in the States has been shot to death because (allegedly) he told a family they all needed to wear masks to enter the store. A Texas park ranger was pushed backward off a pier into a lake while explaining to a group of young people why they still needed to practice social distancing in a state park. Protestors have shown up at several state capitol buildings, sans masks, to protest wearing them (among other things); they have also taken to berating those wearing masks (especially news media).

Some feel the US government told them not to wear masks, then told them to wear masks: very confusing, if not suspicious. Some feel the masks are a not-so-subtle way of imposing control over people: starting with a rule, then enforcing it with fines and jail, and finally telling you how to live. Some feel masks are unnecessary because the virus can pass through them. Some feel masks are ineffective because people don’t know how to wear them correctly. Some feel the coronavirus is no big deal, so what’s with a mask? And many feel masks are a sign of sanity and good citizenship and anyone who disagrees is a fascist, know-nothing, violent domestic terrorist.

Phew, so many feelings! Let’s take a look at the facts and think about masks for a change, shall we?

First of all, never use the word mask by itself. If we were going to discuss vehicles, you might first ask me “what kind?” Race cars are different from pickup trucks are different from tanks and motorcycles and Segways. All are vehicles. Lucky for us, the mask discussion can easily break down into two categories: Respirators (such as the famous N95) and surgical masks (which also includes all lower forms of face covering, down to the humble Buff).

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Respirators don’t look all that different from some surgical masks, so what is the difference? First, respirators protect the wearer from even small particles, while surgical masks only protect from large particles. Second, respirators can be reused (even though manufacturers prefer you discard them). Finally, respirators require a face-seal, or a tight fit in the PPE parlance. Back in the Army, we practiced wearing gas-masks (respirators+) for hours at a time, and we had to get a seal when we put them on. The way they trained us? We put on our masks with a good seal, then went into a tent full of teargas so thick you couldn’t see. The instructor ordered us to reach to the back of our mask and break the seal. The gas roared in, and everybody immediately went into full flight mode as teargas burned your throat & lungs, fluid poured from your eyes, nose, & mouth, and you ran blindly toward the exit to spend about fifteen minutes retching on the ground, gasping for air. Never had any problem convincing soldiers to get a good seal after that.

To put it in laymen’s terms, respirators are custom finish, while surgical masks (despite the name) are more builder’s grade. The CDC has a great infographic here.

So about the mask frenzy. Yes, the federal government told you (and me) to not buy masks, that we didn’t need them. To be precise, that we didn’t need them as much as medical professionals needed them; they were referring to the N95 respirator type of masks. They were/are in limited supply. They keep the wearer safe from Coronavirus while you are exposed to sick people all day long, if they are properly worn and fitted. See, if you aren’t trained, they won’t work well for you, they will just give you a false sense of security. It’s not just the fit/seal issue: you have to train how to put them on and take them off so as not to contaminate the insides of the mask, and not touch your face. So they are just not appropriate, like a tank is not appropriate as a vehicle for commuting (unless you drive I-395 daily).

Why is the government telling us to wear surgical masks now if they don’t protect the wearer from the virus? Such masks do provide some minimal protection, but if you walk under a fresh rainbow sneeze of coronavirus, your surgical mask or balaclava or Buff probably will not save you. These masks are there mostly to prevent you from generating the rainbow sneeze on your fellow man. You may not feel sick, or you may just feel a little off, but you may be infected, and if you sneeze/cough/scream/kiss (just sayin’) your neighbor, you are now a super-spreader, the Typhoid Mary of the neighborhood. And a mask on yo’ face helps with that.

Some other analogies if you like:

Respirators for doctors (and the like) are like space suits for astronauts. Astronauts don’t wear space suits except to train, and when in space. They don’t have to wear them in space either; they’ll just die without them. So too with doctors and respirators.

Surgical masks are more like a custom. Sneezing/coughing is neither good nor bad; it’s something the body does as it fights off a disease or reacts to an allergy. Humans have a custom that we don’t intentionally sneeze in each other’s faces. Why is that? Why should I care; I’m already sick! We do it as a courtesy. It’s so automatic and ingrained us, that I dare you to try to walk up and sneeze at someone. It’s almost impossible! We are asked to adopt a new custom–wearing face coverings–simply to protect others. That’s all.

Bottom line: Leave to go out, mask your snout! Staying in; show your chin!

Since you made it this far, click on this link and read Edgar Allan Poe’s short story (four pages) The Masque of the Red Death to reward yourself. Why? One, it’s short; did I mention four pages? Two, it’s Poe, so it’s dark and rich and scary. Three, whenever anybody asks you what you read during the pandemic, you can say “Poe’s Masque of the Red Death.” It will impress most, and only Lit majors will get the joke. Four, it’s about a plague, so, timely. Five, depending on your take, you might even get a little schadenfreude out of it–which reminds me, it has a glossary explaining some of the more arcane terms from Poe’s time.

Enjoy!