Why do we wear a mask?

In our current world of the Coronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, or whatever other name you would like to use, we are all learning new behaviors and social interaction mechanisms. Nothing is more “in your face” (pun intended) than the mask. Nothing is also more misunderstood and controversial.

So why do wear a mask? Well, first, there are different kinds of masks. Surgical masks, N95, cloth masks, t-shirt sleeves, etc. The main difference to understand is masks to protect me and masks to protect you. The higher grade filtering masks (e.g. N95) are to reduce the chance that I breathe in virus particles from the air that you breathed/coughed/sneezed out. This is to protect me. These are built to higher standards, have to fit properly to work, cost more, and are in somewhat short supply. Mostly, people should wear these in situations where they can’t be away from potentially infected people and those people can’t wear masks themselves. Mostly healthcare workers and first responders.

So what are the other kinds of masks for? They are to protect you from me. If I wear a regular surgical mask or a homemade cloth mask, it just reduces the number of virus particles that come out of my mouth and nose into the air that you might breathe. I go through the inconvenience and irritation of wearing these masks for you, not for me. This is an inherently unselfish act. A social pact. Therefore, if you don’t wear a mask, you are breaking that social pact and implying that you don’t care about me.

But you might say, “I’m not sick. I don’t need to wear a mask.” We know you can still spread virus in the time period after you get infected but before you feel sick. We don’t have enough widespread testing to know if you are in that window yet.

The hard part is that we are fighting one of the fundamental components of human interaction. Face-to-face conversation is so ingrained into our system, that it is hard to put a barrier between it. I’ve seen people that are wearing masks, pull the mask down as they approach someone just to talk to them… defeating the point. I see people wearing their mask on their chin… accomplishing nothing. And I see people getting in other people’s faces without wearing a mask… to make a point.

Remember…. I wear a mask for you. Please wear a mask for me.