MEDFORD, Ore. – Jackson County now has 22 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
On the morning of April 1, Jackson County reported one new case of coronavirus in the county.
Along with the latest report was new guidance on face masks. According to Jackson County, the CDC is now recommending the use of masks in public.
The county said, “Dr. Jim Shames, Jackson County Health Officer, believes it would be beneficial for families to obtain 1 or 2 cloth facemasks for use out in public. They can be washed when dirty and used over and over again. Jackson County Public Health is NOT recommending that you purchase manufactured surgical masks, please save them for the healthcare workers that rely on them for protection. According to Dr. Jim Shames, ‘When we both wear a face mask, I protect you and you protect me.”’
The county said at the beginning of the pandemic, the CDC recommended masks only if you were already infected. Now, county officials are giving the following reasons to reconsider the previous assumptions regarding masks:
- We now know that some people are contagious before they ever get symptoms and some never feel sick. They might spread the disease before they would ever consider masking up.
- Droplets do indeed transmit the disease, but they can be generated from talking as well as coughing. Just standing next to someone talking could spread the disease if neither of you are masked.
- Wearing a mask while sick is stigmatizing for those who wear them. Universal use wouldn’t identify who was sick and who wasn’t.
- You are less likely to touch your mouth and nose while wearing a mask
- DIY masks can possibly provide protection to the public without impacting the supply of manufactured masks currently prioritized for healthcare workers. If the medical community accepts the use of these masks in the healthcare setting, then these masks will be available and ready to go.
- There is data that suggests that in countries where masking is encouraged for all citizens, the rate of disease transmission may be reduced by their actions.
- Volunteers are making these masks locally using various patterns. The principle is the same regardless of design. Having a physical barrier to prevent droplets from landing on others, discouraging the wearers from touching their faces, and possibly reducing large droplets from landing on mucous membranes are the goals for wearing masks in public. And they look good.
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