The subject of masks in the age of the pandemic

First, the surgeon’s mask is designed to prevent the wearer’s viral-laden aerosols spreading to others. The moisture droplets “impinge” upon the inner lining. When you inhale, most of the air is drawn from around the edges, so there is minimal protection of the wearer, but even so, there may be a little protection.

The N95 mask is designed to protect the wearer from 95% of non-oil (N) dust particles above 0.3 micron (300 nm) size. Different viruses vary in size. The coronavirus is approximately 120 nm so two could fit side by side in the size of the holes in the mask; however, we are not trying to stop the free-floating virus but rather the water droplets that contain the virus, and those water droplets are much larger. So these masks can offer more protection, if they are properly sized and fitted, though they are still not 100%.

— Dr. Timothy Sly, Epidemiologist and Professor Emeritus, School of Public Health, Ryerson University, Toronto (4/9/2020)

I’ve never liked masks, even I think when I was a kid and wore one at Halloween. They were always hot and miserable and made your face feel like it was in a sauna bath. But Halloween Is exciting for kids because they get to pretend they are somebody or something else for awhile. Or they want to pretend to scare somebody with a frightful and clever mask in order to get a candy treat.

There have been all kinds of masks throughout human civilization, from the primitive and symbolic to the rich, color- beaded trimmed masks that cover only the eyes and which are worn at fanciful balls and masquerade parties. Fancy and elaborate masked balls at Mardi Gras time in New Orleans are a good example.

Then there are dust masks and painters’ masks. They are helpful and useful and protect our health. In addition there are those that are more decorative, symbolic or used in various kinds of rituals in various cultures around the world.

I never even thought of masks once I had grown out of childhood. I never had, nor wanted, to wear any kind of mask, for any reason or purpose. The only time I saw them was on all the masked riders on their elaborate floats in the many parades during Mardi Gras season in New Orleans where I grew up. How absurd the masked riders looked as they tossed beads and trinkets to the sea of hands in front of them. Now, can you even imagine upwards of a million people packed together unmasked in close quarters during carnival in that city? It happened this past February before “that virus in China” was much thought about here. Not long afterward New Orleans became a “hot spot” for the rapidly spreading coronavirus. And no telling how many people from all over the country who unknowingly carried the virus spread it to others when they returned home from huge celebration, much like those hordes of Spring Break students in Florida this past March and April. And, you won’t see his anytime soon: 80,000 cheering, yelling, hoarse and masked fans at a football game. I don’t think so. If allowed, they’d go and skip the mask part.

It always kind of annoyed me when people would say to me either in jest or seriously, ”Take off that mask you’re hiding behind.” Or something like that. But when I think about it, the word “mask” is a potent symbol for an alternate persona we think we are projecting to the world, rather than the insecure, mortal human hiding behind the other symbolic mask we wear all the time, not even aware we are doing so..

Today in the age of the coronavirus pandemic, masks have moved way beyond their symbolic meaning to become very real and necessary shields/coverings for our mouths and noses that prevent us from easily spreading the virus when around others. Medical masks save the lives of healthcare workers on the front lines of this deadly pandemic. But respirator (N-95) masks are in short supply, and surgical and cotton face masks do not offer the same protection. Either way, masks are actually cheating death rather than merely representing something we are afraid of.

Masks for protection were something in pre-pandemic days we never even thought about. Even when the virus had not reached the US, we saw how almost everyone in Hong Kong, mainland China and South Korea were wearing masks outside. That never remotely happened to the same extent here, although everyone is supposed to wear one when out of the house and in enclosed spaces where it’s very difficult to practice social distancing. We go up to the counter of a store or get in a check-out line at the grocery and no one freaks out thinking perhaps an armed robbery is about to take place. It’s very strange when you think about it, except that now masks are the new normal, from fashion/decorator cotton masks to tiny-particle, impenetrable respirator masks, at least in hospitals. The public is not supposed to buy them because of shortages for frontline healthcare workers. Can you imagine working in a COVID-19 unit in a hospital, not wearing a respirator mask because none are available? I can’t even the fear and anxiety as you go about the business of trying to save people’s lives not even adequately protected from the highly contagious disease that threatens them.

Thus today masks for protection have taken over and superseded all previous uses of masks by the average person who is not in a healthcare setting. Just go to Google and type in the word “mask” and see what you get.

For those of us who are older, masks are now associated with an easily transmitted and often fatal disease and our efforts to prevent catching the virus or giving it to others. When we put on the mask we acknowledge our mortality and the reality of death. If we refuse to wear masks, that’s when it might be said we are being who we really are, maskless and exposed to the virus and potentially giving it to others.