Editor:
It seems COVID-19 has become old news. The world is opening up a bit and people are letting their guard down. B.C. has done a remarkable job keeping our numbers low thanks to our amazing Dr. Henry and a Canadian penchant for following the rules – let’s not blow it now.
I am amassing a lovely, and I might add fashionable, collection of masks. I’m setting up for the long haul and plan to rock this new look. For all the changes this virus has brought to mankind, having to lose a little face for the sake of safety seems a small price to pay for some newfound freedom.
Of course there is discourse about this mask wearing thing. Those who refuse to bend to the new reality, people who are carrying on as if life has gone back to normal, they are the people creating peer pressure for those of us who are following the rules.
I feel like I’m back in high school, it’s me who is self-conscious when confronted with an in-your-face face and I shouldn’t be. Mask wearing shouldn’t cause for ridicule – the bare-faced people are not the cool dudes, they are the risk takers and it’s me they are putting at risk.
The experts agree mask wearing won’t save us from the virus, but it could be another tool to slow its spread. Add a mask to social distancing and a vigorous hand washing regime and we lower the risk of sharing our germs with others. We the mask wearers are keeping those around us a little safer – it would be lovely if those around us would do the same.
Elva Stoelers, White Rock
