Letter: Masks should be required indoors

Graphic by Lori Deaton

[Regarding “County Recommends Return to Masking in Indoor Public Spaces,” Aug. 11, Xpress:] Yes, officials should require masks in indoor situations — it is such a small thing to do to protect ourselves and others.

— Linda Zang
Weaverville

Editor’s note: The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners voted Aug. 18 to declare a renewed emergency due to the coronavirus, as well as reinstate a mask mandate for all public indoor facilities in Asheville, Montreat, Woodfin, Weaverville and unincorporated county areas.

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6 thoughts on “Letter: Masks should be required indoors

    • bsummers

      Wrong again.

      If Dante were alive and writing Inferno today, there would be a special circle in Hell for those who anonymously spread disinformation in the middle of a pandemic.

      Get vaccinated. Wear a mask. Ignore liars.

    • LowerCrust

      Did you read the article you are promoting? Your linked material contradicts your assertion. It is one thing to say the quality of mask and how it is worn makes a difference in its effectiveness (that is common sense), but that is far removed from trying to assert that it has, “nothing to do with health or science.” The primary researcher’s bottom line was:

      “There is no question it is beneficial to wear any face covering, both for protection in close proximity and at a distance in a room. However, there is a very serious difference in the effectiveness of different masks when it comes to controlling aerosols.”

      If the science is truly your concern, the only reasonable conclusion would be that the requirements for masking should be more stringent, not less. If your position is, “Oh, just screw it – it’s too much to expect from people and let’s just all take our chances,” then that’s a whole different line of argument. But the research you are touting clearly contradicts the thought that this is all just made up “ritual magik.”

      Also, the researchers are engineers. Their research is very helpful in understanding the mechanics behind which masks limit aerosols the best. It does not presume to speak to actual disease transmission . There is an important connection, but it is not the same thing.

  1. Jason Williams

    If a early frost is threatening your rosebushes, you don’t pick and choose what individual buds you cover up, you cover up the whole bush.

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