Time to ditch face masks? Here’s how SLO County residents feel about new CDC rule
I wear face masks. Please, please, don’t judge me for it.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its its mask-wearing guidelines for fully vaccinated people on May 13.
On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced that fully vaccinated Californians will be able to ditch their face coverings in most settings starting June 15.
But they’ll still need to mask up when using public transportation and in health care settings including in doctors offices, hospitals and nursing homes. And rules about face coverings imposed by local businesses remain in effect.
That got me wondering, like many people, if I’m going to continue to wear that swath of cloth across my face.
For me and son Brian, the answer was immediate: Yes, we will.
I know some people will gleefully opt to discontinue using any face coverings at all. I respect their decision, just as I acknowledge that people have the right to decide whether or not to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.
But when I’m wearing my mask, I respectfully request that those people not harass, mock or jeer at me.
That has happened to me and other mask wearers periodically throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and it always raises my ire. Why does my wearing a mask make any difference to others?
Brian and I aren’t basing our ongoing mask use solely on pandemic-related advice. We’ll keep strapping on our face coverings, based on years of personal experience.
We’ve observed up close just how much mask-wearing benefited my older, asthmatic husband Richard, a sufferer of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Before the onset of COVID-19, he wore masks during allergy and flu seasons, when there was smoke in the air and, frequently, in medical settings or crowds. During the pandemic and until his death, he wore them anytime he was out of the house.
The masks worked so well for Richard through the years. We’re sure they helped to prevent serious illnesses that he’d battled frequently pre-mask, such as pneumonia and sinus infections.
If looking funny and out of step can prevent that kind of sickness, too, I’m enthusiastic to try it.
Will SLO County residents still wear face masks?
I wondered what some of my friends and online buddies were going to do mask-wise. So, I asked.
Within less than five hours on a busy Friday, I had more than 50 emojis and 31 comments from my friends. None of them said they’re done with masks.
“I will still be masked indoors, except in my own home with people whose vaccine status is known to me,” best-selling author Catherine Ryan Hyde of Cambria wrote.
“Someone I know made an interesting point. They said, ‘If you’re one of the people who gets upset because someone is wearing a mask when not absolutely necessary, do you also get upset seeing someone wearing a coat when it’s not really all that cold?’ ” Hyde said, adding that she’s “not sure why this has become such a hot-button issue for people, but I’m a big fan of everybody staying in their own lane.”
Author Linda Seed of Cambria wrote that “I’ll continue to wear mine, too, especially in crowded indoor spaces. The vaccines aren’t 100% effective. Plus, I’ve enjoyed not having colds or the flu for the past year.”
Writing from her vacation campsite on the Russian River, retired Atascadero State Hospital nurse Gloria Fiscalini of Cambria said that she will “absolutely” continue mask wearing.
“I think the fact that there were VERY FEW cases of colds/regular flu” during the pandemic was “because of people wearing masks!” the fully vaccinated nurse said, even though “all of the studies I’m reading are telling me I’m safe (and people are safe around me!!) ... next year during cold/flu season, I’ll seriously consider wearing a mask in groups!”
Former Cambrian editor Toni Barnett, who lives in San Miguel, said that during the pandemic, “it was nice not catching my usual twice-a-year, severe, weeks-long cold … whether thanks to masks, constant handwashing/sanitizing or just staying home more.”
“(The) CDC is leaving it up to the public to self monitor?” former Tribune journalist Danna Dykstra-Coy asked. “I will still wear a mask indoors in crowds because I know of my own relatives who are anti-vax, anti-mask who will be indoors, in crowds … They won’t wear a mask, not because they’re vaccinated, but because they never wore masks at all.”
Geoff West, who lives in Cambria and Costa Mesa, said, “This last 18 months has taught us much, including the value of caution when facing a pandemic. I just spent a couple hours on the elephant seal bluff (in San Simeon as a Friends of the Elephant Seal docent), chatting with visitors about those magnificent critters. There were very few masks (except mine) in sight.”
“Theoretically, we are safe in an open, windy area,” he added, but “better safe than sorry.”
Jeff Miller, a former Cambrian who lives in Hawaii, said it “will be a loooooonnnnggg time until I do not wear a mask. (There are) too many anti-vaxxers out there, and too many times (the COVID-19 case count) spikes after gatherings like holidays.”
Miller has respiratory issues, while his wife Pam has an autoimmune disease and thus a compromised immune system.
“I don’t want to be around people in general,” he said. “With COVID-19, even less. Without masks — no way. Without vaccines — no way.”
Jackie Salamanca of Paso Robles, said “I don’t plan to immediately pull off my mask just because they say to. I also hope no one will harass me, either.”
Oz Barron, co-owner of Ball and Skein and More in Cambria, said that enforcing mask rules will “be a struggle for a bit.
“As retailers, we’re bracing ourselves for the belligerent that will confront us about masking policies,” he continued. “Having a statewide mandate helped us immensely to protect our staff and our community. We’re a bit nervous now that we’ll start getting pushback or worse as we continue to insist on masks.”
“The majority of anti vaxxers will likely stop wearing masks and insist they’re vaccinated and don’t need a mask,” Barron said. “It’s gonna be a struggle until we achieve some level or normalcy.”
Bob Johnson of Los Angeles wrapped it up, saying, “I continue to wear masks in all places where required and social distance even in outside locations. Let’s all do this until we have conquered COVID.”
