WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) – The subject of masks is the subject of controversy. Private companies like airlines and retailers are now requiring customers to cover their faces, but state and local governments who have pushed to require masks in public have faced intense public outcry.
Three people are charged in the fatal shooting of a Michigan security guard after the guard told a female customer her daughter needed to wear a mask in the store and Michigan police are looking for a man who wiped his nose on a store clerk after she told the customer masks are mandatory.
In Oklahoma, a proclamation requiring masks in Stillwater was downgraded to a request after reported threats of violence while in New York, residents lined up for free masks.
The issue of masks has touched a public nerve. Vice President Mike Pence was criticized for not wearing a mask at the Mayo Clinic. Two days later the vice president covered his face during a visit to a General Motors plant.
Masks are required or will soon be required on the country’s three largest airlines as well as Costco and other retailers. But experts have a word of warning. “The most important thing is social distancing and washing your hands,” said White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Deborah Birx. “And we don’t want people to get an artificial sense of protection because they are behind a mask.”
It’s a reminder as authorities try to balance public health and personal liberty.
The CDC’s web site recommends masks in public settings where social distancing is difficult.
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