Twenty states, including Kansas, now require residents to wear a mask or face covering in public, as new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. continue to climb. And although cases have been declining in Nebraska, health experts here say it’s the best option to slow the spread of the virus.
The message may be getting a little repetitive by now. Experts say that’s because wearing a mask really is the most important thing Americans can do to limit the spread of the virus, and there’s very little disagreement on that fact.
The CDC’s recommendation for face coverings includes 19 citations for clinical or laboratory studies about effectiveness. They’re also recommended by the World Health Organization and the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
But a Pew Research Center poll from early June found about one-third of U.S. adults say they don’t regularly wear a mask in public. And the poll found liberal Democrats are significantly more likely to wear a mask than conservative Republicans.
- Masks are harmful to your health (false)
- Masks only help if someone has symptoms (false)
- Masks cause self contamination (true and false)
That divide is concerning local health providers like Dr. Jim Nora, an infectious disease specialist and medical director of Bryan Medical Center.
"We would really encourage people to depoliticize the mask," Dr. Nora said. "It doesn’t matter what political beliefs you have; there is good, medical, scientific evidence that masks help to prevent spread of infection."
That message has gained momentum recently among political leaders. Top Republicans including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Mike Pence have encouraged Americans to wear a mask.
"Wear a mask whenever your local and state authorities say it’s appropriate," Pence said at a briefing last week.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams took a much stronger tone.
"Please, please, please, wear a face covering when you go out in public. It is not an inconvenience. It is not a suppression of your freedom," Dr. Adams said at the same briefing. "It actually is a vehicle to achieve our goals – it adds to your convenience and your freedom because it allows us to open up more places and it allows those places to stay open."
But some Nebraskans say their opposition to wearing a mask goes deeper than inconvenience.
Lincoln Public Schools has announced it will likely require students and teachers to wear masks when returning to the classroom this fall. The plan has sparked some backlash, and several residents joined the most recent school board meeting to voice complaints about the potential policy.
One woman named Kayla talked about her Post Traumatic Stress Disorder caused by childhood abuse. She said face coverings can trigger panic attacks.
- NPR: A User's Guide To Masks
- Nebraska Medicine: The Best Mask Material
- CDC: How To Wear Cloth Face Coverings
"When I hear people say kids will get used to it — I don’t think kids will get used to panic attacks," she said. "I don’t think kids will get used to having the worst moments of their lives be triggered in the place that last year was the only safe place in their life. A lot of these kids, their homes aren’t safe, and the school is where they go in order to be taken care of."
The CDC says face coverings may not be possible for some people with certain disabilities, including "people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental health conditions or other sensory sensitivities."
Parent Jen Menebroker said her son, who receives special education services through LPS, would be negatively impacted by a mask requirement.
"Our son relies on lip reading and identifying facial expressions to learn and to be able to connect with his teachers and his school mates," Menebroker said. "This will also pose a great disadvantage for other students who have disabilities."
Dr. Doug Moore is Director of Critical Care at CHI Health. He says while CHI encourages everyone to wear a mask, they also understand that some people choose not to.
"Our job as providers is not to judge our patients, but to educate our patients and allow them to make their own decisions and we just deal with it as it comes," Dr. Moore said.
And Nebraskans will continue to have that choice; the only place citizens are required to wear a mask is at a salon, barber shop, massage therapy center, or tattoo parlor. Gov. Pete Ricketts has encouraged Nebraskans to wear a mask in public, but does not support instituting a statewide policy.
"Use your good judgement about using a mask," Ricketts said at his most recent news conference. "If you can be six feet apart from somebody and be outside, you probably don't need it. But if you're going to be inside, especially in an enclosed space and you can't stay six feet apart, that's a good opportunity to wear a mask."
He has also warned that counties who adopt face coverings requirements in public buildings will not receive any CARES Act federal funding.
"To require it to get government services that taxpayers have already paid for, I'm opposed to that," Ricketts said. "And the counties still do have a choice. If they want to forgo the CARES Act then they can make that a requirement, but they wont' be eligible for the CARES Act money to cover their expenses with regard to coronavirus."