Started my #Masks4Canada thread in early April, advocating Canada-wide mandatory mask-use well before our Government had agreed they were of any value at all. The Gov evolved & this thread did too, becoming an ongoing one-stop shop for debunking anti-mask arguments.
April 8, 2020
The Czechs masked up and they're flattening the curve better than most of their European neighbours. They credit #Masks4ALL for this. We should be like the Czechs. Canada should do EXACTLY what they've done.
The arguments against #Masks4ALL don't stand up, which is why our federal government and the esteemed Dr Theresa Tam has steadily evolved her position from one of outright dismissal, to tolerance to a suggested practise. We need to go further. All of us. Together.
I have enormous respect for Dr Tam & her team & find little to fault the Trudeau government's response to this global pandemic since we all started taking it seriously. I only ask them to ask my fellow Canadians to step up to the #Masks4ALL challenge.
#Masks4ALL isn't about depriving our already mightily deprived frontline healthcare workers of the N95 masks they so desperately need in order to protect themselves in this civilization-defining blood-and-guts battle for the rest of us. It's about sending them less sick people.
One Coronavirus transmission threat is from droplets flung outwards when we sneeze, cough or even just speak. Larger droplets fly further. Even a simple bandanna over one's nose & mouth will mitigate a %age of those large droplets. It's not refutable.
It was at first the recommendation of the world's top virology institutions like CDC & WHO that only folks showing symptoms or healthcare folk should wear masks. The moment we realized covid19 is transmissible long before a victim exhibits symptoms exploded that rationale forever.
Remaining arguments against #Masks4ALL don't stand up. A homemade mask over your mouth & nose doesn't detract in any way from the other Flatten The Curve solutions we're already employing. By all means 'Stay Inside' but if/when you have to forage, wear a mask. Protect each other.
Biggest remaining argument, that masks give the wearer a 'false sense of security' is taken care of by proper government instruction and a populace eager to get safely past this dangerous disease together ASAFP. Educate us. We'll pass it on. Done deal
Folks responding to #Masks4ALL saying "fine, wear a mask! Nobody's stopping you!" are missing the essential point on earth right now: we're all LITERALLY #InThisTogether. Any layer of protection only employed by a small number of citizens is near meaningless for the Curve.
Another #Masks4ALL concern is that folks will wear them or dispose of them improperly but if improper preventative measure implementation means we dispose of the measure entirely you probably don't want to see what I see from my window each day inre #socialdistancing
APRIL 9, 2020
Those claiming Science doesn't support #Masks4ALL don't get another essential point of our time: the science, like everything else in our civilization, is in flux now. Fluid. Adapting. Learning. We won't have a body of knowledge on this until long after we've won or lost
That said there's absolutely an abundance of Science, Data and Facts indicating #Masks4ALL is a worthy & indeed critical endeavour we humans should undertake together, which is why *so many* scientists & medical professionals worldwide are advocating for it.
JULY 6, 2020
The world has changed and changed again significantly since I began this thread in early April. Canada's federal government now routinely mentions masks as a primary level defence against covid though it still fails to make the mandate. There's no good medical reason for this.
At this phase given what we now know about how the virus spreads (low ~ surface transfer, high ~ air droplets) case could be made (& I guess hereby *is* being made) that widespread mask usage is actually more effective vs Covid than both hand washing & not touching your face.
(which is OF COURSE not to say vigorous hand washing & not touching your face when you're out & about aren't important in the fight vs Covid. In fact why don't we just go ahead & continue employing these eminently sensible practices throughout the rest of our lives regardless?)
And I guess while I'm at it
July 10, 2020
Here's an experiment you yourself can do at home to see for your own eyes the effectiveness of viral transmission prevention using different styles of masks.
July 13, 2020
There's no easier argument to debunk, possibly ever, than "I don't want to wear a mask, I have a breathing issue." If this is indeed the case you are in far greater danger than the rest of us from suffering the very worst effects of Covid19 including DEATH. Masking of the population around you IS A LIFESAVER FOR YOU. The least you can do is not throw rocks.
Making masks mandatory is how a jurisdiction indicates they're taking the coronavirus seriously. Just like Climate (& so much of it is *exactly* like Climate) the sooner we get started the sooner we beat the problem.
You don't have to die from Covid to suffer from one element or another of it FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. A brand new "pre-existing condition" you carry around til you die. It's not something you want to do to yourself to 'rip off the bandaid' or spur 'herd immunity'
Say businesses have no right to refuse service for not wearing a mask? It's no different in any way from insisting you wear shoes & socks. Or park doggo outside. OR NOT SMOKE. Health reasons. Hygiene stuff. Not making their customers sick or dead where preventable. That's the end of that.
JULY 23, 2020
Climate folk know what to expect from the never-maskites: they'll say masks don't work no matter what evidence you provide & from whom. Doesn't matter to them. They culturally identify with Denialists & MAGA cultists. Literally the slowest of the herd. They MUST be ignored.
Every single word I wrote about Climate Denialists in my #SlowestOfTheHerd thread applies just as easily to the NoMask crowd except they're even crazier & here's why: they don't even get to put this off on future generations. It's their *OWN* skins. NOW.
From time to time the decisions made by our political leaders *really* matter. Last Monday was one of those days. City council debate began to discuss mandatory masks on transit & was expanded to all public indoor spaces city-wide for Aug 1st
This will save lives. Calgarian lives. Period. Not only that, this is Calgary showing leadership to the rest of the province, indeed the whole country. I'm *proud* of us. Faced with a challenge we stepped up. Makes it easier for Edmonton to do the right thing next. Stay tuned on that one.
I have enormous respect for Alberta's Chief Medical Officer Deena Hinshaw but enormous, well documented (and well founded) distrust of Jason Kenney & the UCP gov to care for anything other than Big Oil & their already rich friends. Cities must lead when provinces fail.
I suppose I should relish in this Calgary mask mandate's clear WIN & some would advise I go easier on the anti-maskers, perhaps sing a little masked, socially distanced kumbaya? That's not my thing. I call out the Bozos & Villains when I see them. You can do what you like
Post mask mandate announcement a few of the anti-maskers made the claim folks will boycott #Calgary and do their business in surrounding non mandated towns. Good luck with that.
I should be happy today because it looks to me very much like Alberta's two biggest cities will indeed adopt mandatory masking which will push many of our smaller towns to follow. I'm not. I'm *scared*. For the kids going back to school. We'd BETTER get this right & QUICKLY
More *very* good news on masks: most Canadians GET IT. This means it's way past time for our media to stop giving platforms to the noisy & belligerent 2/10. They must be ignored for the good of the country.
If you've been enjoying this thread I advise you to also check out this thread from Peter Silverstone, Prof of Psychiatry & Interim Chair for the University of Alberta. Great list of EVIDENCE for the need to mask up & make it mandatory
JULY 23 UPDATE: Edmonton voted mandatory masking for public transit & institutions. They'll discuss a more fulsome public-wide mandate on July 29th. This vote must pass & though it's hard for me to imagine it won't, Edmontonians should lobby Edmonton City Council HARD on this. NOW.
So we all know what just happened, Jason Kenney & his UCP, though perfectly comfortable acting unilaterally in all other matters since day one, left this all-important decision up to the cities & towns. Leadership in a pandemic is literally life and death. Kenney took a pass.
Another antimasker argument I'm hearing from our slowest Canadians is that a mask mandate is "unconstitutional". I'd first note that Canada does not have a Constitution but rather a Charter of Rights and Freedoms & neither allows you to endanger others or the public welfare.
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