:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/adn/PCQQWNV3OJGVXFZGCC7J2R6SWU.jpg)
Wearing a mask in public spaces is the best tool we have to protect ourselves — and each other — from contracting COVID-19.
Masks work by limiting the spread of respiratory droplets in the air. Even a cloth mask does a good job of trapping droplets. As Gov. Mike Dunleavy mentioned in a recent briefing, masks limit the number of respiratory droplets you propel into the air, which protects people around you if you are infected. We also know that severity of illness is proportional to viral load exposure. So, your mask is also protecting you from inhaling large amounts of viral-laden droplets from others. The more of us who wear masks, the more we are protected.
As a nurse in an Anchorage hospital, I wear a surgical mask for the entirety of my shift. (If caring for a patient with COVID-19, I wear a N-95 mask). All of my colleagues have masks on, too. That’s more than 12 hours of working side by side, doing the hard work of caring for your loved ones. So far, to my knowledge, not one of us has contracted COVID-19 on the job.
Why not take the lessons learned by health care workers and apply them to the rest of the economy?
If everyone wears a mask, we can significantly reduce community spread of COVID-19 and keep our businesses open. We do not have to choose between jobs and saving lives. It should not be the burden of business owners and teachers to institute their own safety measures. This is what government leaders are elected to do — to see the big picture and protect public health.
I wish a mask mandate wasn’t necessary. I wish everyone wore one voluntarily so we can survive this pandemic together. Sadly, I don’t see enough masked faces in my hometown, and they won’t be worn by the majority unless they are mandated.
Some consider a mask mandate as an imposition on individual freedom. If this is your concern, consider the loss of autonomy you will experience if you are hospitalized with COVID-19. You will be in a hospital room, alone, in an area that has been closed off by makeshift plastic walls and red tape. Your friends and family will not be allowed to visit you. You won’t see your nurse or doctor’s face behind their mask, googles, and shield. You’ll be there because you need help breathing, which is a terrifying feeling. You will have to wear a mask now — this one to give you oxygen. You won’t be able to choose much, but you will need to consider: If your heart stops, do you want CPR? If you can no longer breathe on your own, do you want a machine to breathe for you?
Please think of masking up as an act of personal responsibility. When I put my mask on before entering the grocery store or post office, I think of how I must stay healthy to take care of my children. I must do my part to protect elders and my vulnerable neighbors. I must not be exposed to COVID-19 and unknowingly pass it on to my patients.
I wear a mask because I care. Do you?
Laurel Carlsen is a registered nurse. She lives in the Mat-Su region.
The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.