Mask Mandates in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic

[1Matthew]

Mask Mandates in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic

It is without a doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the worst things to happen in recent United States history. First, let's look at some of the facts and statistics regarding the 2020 Covid pandemic. According to the CDC, in the United States alone there have been more than 100 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, this doesn’t include the unconfirmed cases, because many people refused to get tested. There were more than 1 million confirmed deaths due to COVID-19 also according to the CDC. This shows that the COVID pandemic could’ve been handled way better than it was. 

But who is really at fault for the mass breakout of COVID in the United States and what did our elected officials do to prevent the spread? The CDC were the ones to recommend guidelines and mandates for COVID, however governors, mayors, and public health officials were the ones that made them mandatory. Dr. Anthony Fauci, as part of the white house coronavirus task force, advocated for mask use as a critical public health measure. However many Americans were outraged to find out there were mask mandates set in place, and they questioned Dr. Fauci’s authority and reliability. One of the biggest arguments against the mask mandates was that some people struggled to breathe with masks on and stated that masks didn’t even work. This however was proven to be false, studies by John Hopkins University showed that the use of masks in public spaces and poorly ventilated space, helped to prevent the spread.

 

Question: If you had the power to make any law to help stop the spread of COVID, what would you put in place?

 

Question: Do you believe that masks were a key source to preventing the spread of COVID-19?

 

Question: Was Dr. Fauci right for setting mask mandates?

Sources

-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9114791/ 

-https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01072 

-https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-face-masks-what-you-need-to-know 

[1-2Charlotte]

I believe that masks did have some effect on the spread of COVID-19. I think it helped stop the spread of the virus and maybe even helped to stop deaths of people even though they were hard to breathe in. Dr. Fauci did the right thing setting mask mandates because even though people got outraged, it saved lives and helped slow down the spread of this deadly virus. 

[1Matthew]

I also beive that masks did help stop the spread of COVID-19, and that they did help save lives and keep people safe. 

[6elana]

I think mask are a huge step in preventing spread of covid. Coming from a CNA who has worked with covid-positive people they are literally life savers. I feel that Dr. Facui was doing the right and safe thing by setting a mandate for masks. Better safe than sorry.

[1Matthew]

Yes, I agree masks were a key step in stopping the spread of COVID-19. I also agree with Dr. Fauci in that masks were the right thing to do, to stop the spread. 

[6Dalton]

Do you believe that masks were a key source to preventing the spread of COVID-19? I do think masks helped some but I think that it just made people more angary and half of the people didn't even wear their masks. Was Dr. Fauci right for setting mask mandates? I think it was the right thing to make people wear masks, and also I do think that it did help to stop spreading the virus.

[4Wyatt]

i think that if i made a law would be social distancing, just because it is the least restricting law because you can still do your day to day things and don't have to wear masks. i believe that wearing a mask helps but just trying to stay health and taking precautions does just as good.

[1Matthew]

I agree that social distancing is most likely the least restricting law, and you could still do your daily activites.