JOURNAL
Why is wearing a face-mask so political?
Yesterday, a good friend of mine posted a passionate video of a woman on Facebook defending her choice not to wear a mask in public places. And I couldn't help but feel disappointed. Still, I decided not to post a personal response. Instead, I posted this video created by the University of Michigan School of Public Health explaining how all of the public health measures recommended by experts makes an impact on stopping the spread of COVID-19. Other individuals who responded were not entirely objective and were shockingly more political, which made me wonder how wearing face masks become a political debate in America? And, is it just as simple as Democrats support wearing masks but Republicans do not?
In early June, the Pew Research Center conducted a poll on American's face mask-wearing behavior. The survey discovered that mask-wearing is indeed becoming a partisan issue. Democrats are more likely to say they wore a mask all or most of the time in the past month (76% vs. 53%) (Igielnik, 2020). While only 49% of conservative Republicans have reported wearing a mask all or most of the time in the past month – 49% compared with 60% of moderate Republicans (Igielnik, 2020).
Coronavirus and the ways you can protect yourself while traveling
As coronavirus claims more lives in China and the virus spreads to new continents, airline travelers are growing more concerned about catching the virus while in flight. Americans currently face a low risk of becoming infected by the coronavirus. However, the CDC has issued statements confirming that this is a severe public health threat. Coronaviruses are named for the crown-like spikes on their surface. While that sounds dangerous, they are a common virus that causes symptoms such as a runny nose, headache, cough, and sore throat. In 2019, a new strain of coronavirus was detected in Wuhan, China. While this strain has not previously been identified in humans, most people will get infected with a coronavirus at some time in their life. While this is a rapidly changing situation, it is providing an excellent opportunity to reflect on healthy habits individuals should practice while traveling by plane.