Wearing Face Protection
Friday May 29, 2020 by Christopher Jordan

An exert from a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine included: “We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.”

Remembering that the anxiety that we hold related to any hyper-vigilance or over-concern, will have a distressing effect on our physiology, impacting the chemistry and function of our nervous and endocrine systems.  This can have a suppressing effect on our immunity, therefore reducing our defense and recovery regarding infection.

Our primary recommendations to protect against contracting infectious agents, which are pretty universal, are: keeping safe distances, cleaning common surfaces regularly (the frequency of which has been extended recently based on level of activity, we tend toward hourly), hand washing and avoiding contact with our own faces.

To protect each other from one another, we need to be responsible for monitoring our own health.  While one of the greatest concerns of the public is knowing when we have been infected, as we may not present with symptoms.  There are common indicators for any viral infection: malaise and a febrile state.  That is, you’ll present with an elevated temperature and feel unusually fatigued.  If you do, or even wonder if you do, stay home.

Our staff follows all of the precautionary behaviors above.  If you are concerned to be in our presence, we will wear face coverage for your protection.  We do not want to be infected either, so we are counting on your diligence.  The reason we have seen such extreme measures foisted upon the public by our leadership, is that we cannot be trusted to act responsibly regarding general public health measures.  It’s just good practice to wash your hands after being outside of your private spaces, and never touch your face until you do (especially: wash hands before consuming food by hand) and stay home if you feel “under the weather.”  Too many people persist in public until they’re driven down, thinking they’ll get over it.  They might, get over it, but not before sharing their gift with others.  We’ve been too conditioned to stay on the job.  It’s better to respect yourself and others by staying home.