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Dear Editor:
I believe a year or so from now the “experts” will discover that the healthy people not wearing a mask was not the problem, but that COVID-19 positive people wearing a mask was. I believe they will learn we actually invited the ill to go out by creating a public environment where they felt good about not staying home. This was because everyone was mandated to wear a mask so they “knew” they were not a risk to anyone.
I wish the government would realize that the priority is to keep the COVID-19 positive people at home and not to mandate masks for everyone. If someone wants to wear a mask, great, but do not mandate masks.
Instead of mandating masks, the government should do something that actually is proactive and attacks the problem. People leaving home when ill is the problem. A mandate that would require all venues to do wellness checks before someone can enter would be proactive and attack the real problem. If a person cannot pass the wellness check they get ticketed/fined on the spot. They should be immediately quarantined and forced to get immediate treatment, not just sent home to spread the virus.
I’ll wear a mask if required, but I don’t want people to wear a mask to protect me. I just want them to stay home. Also, if people are going to wear masks, they should learn not to wear contaminated masks.
I think the “experts” will find that a lot of people have been made ill by wearing contaminated masks. They may find that the mask has spread COVID-19 and other illnesses because most people don’t use or maintain their masks properly. They haven’t practiced good sterile techniques by sanitizing their hands before putting on the mask and before and after removing the mask.
They contaminated their new clean mask by placing it in the same dirty area, i.e. purse, car glove box etc. that they kept the old contaminated mask in. They also probably infected themselves by putting the contaminated mask on backwards by mistake. This is especially true for any cloth masks or single use mask.
So many issues here. Will the experts wonder why the Infection Control People were so silent during this time?
Remember, in an infectious environment, a health professional would never go from one space to another without a clean sterile mask because of the cross-contamination issues, and neither should we. Also remember this mask is harboring the “virus,” germs, bacteria from the area it passed through or from the person who is exhaling into it.
It is good to remember that the purpose of exhaling is to get the toxins out of the lungs and the body. With wearing a mask, you are keeping all those toxins within one inch of your mouth/nose. This may not be too bad for a healthy person but for someone who is compromised, such as asthma, allergies to pollen, COPD, etc., this is a real problem they don’t need.
Is this mask mandate about really people’s safety or about appeasement?
Eric Faulkner
Indianapolis
I am appalled that you allowed this letter to the editor to be published. It is clearly below journalistic standards as it makes numerous false claims that are contradicted by science. You have a responsibility as an arbiter of fact to not mislead the public, and matters of scientific fact are not open for “both sides” debate. Shame on you.
I read with interest this article about masks. I agree with Faulkner’s last two paragraphs. Some people who are compromised and re-breath their own toxic exhales would create a problem to themselves. And we are all guilty handling reused masks esp. the thin paper ones. God gave us fresh air to breath and the salty air from ocean beaches are the most healing.