Everyone Should Wear Face Masks to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19

Why Face Masks Are Important

Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash

There has been a lot of debate lately on social media regarding the wearing of face masks. For the most part, the opinions seem to be split along party lines. Many on the left are of the opinion that anyone not wearing a mask is an insensitive jerk, while many on the right are not convinced that mask wearing is effective and resist the advice to wear them out in public.

Everyone understands that COVID-19 is a threat, but not everyone agrees about what to do about it. So what is the truth, where masks are concerned? Are they effective? And should everyone wear them, or just those who exhibit symptoms of COVID-19? Research suggests that everyone should wear face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 because the virus is spread by respiratory droplets and can be spread by asymptomatic individuals, and because masks block respiratory droplets.

COVID-19 Is Spread Primarily by Respiratory Droplets

The first reason everyone should wear face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is because the virus is spread by respiratory droplets, which are ejected when someone coughs, sneezes, talks, or breathes. Respiratory droplets contain liquids, such as saliva and mucus, as well as tiny viral and bacterial…