Dakota Beacon

Yesterday an article was posted on Newsmax quoting Betsey McCaughey, whom many will remember as an outspoken critic of Obamacare and a former Lt. Governor of New York.  The gist of her comments was to slam the officials in the Department of Health and Human Services for “knowingly allowing” an insufficient number of masks in the national stockpile.  She went on to say that homemade masks aren’t effective because they keep out only 2% to 3% of particles. I would not argue with her about what homemade masks can “keep out”. She is probably right about that.  And I would further agree that we were caught with our federal pants down on this pandemic, in more ways than one.  

But aside from blaming people for the situation we are in, we should really wear whatever kind of face mask we can.  While it is true that only the N95 masks keep particles in the air out, any kind of mask, commercially produced surgical masks, homemade masks, even a simple bandana or scarf will help to keep you from exposing others to any virus or germs you may have.  We know also that many people are asymptomatic - which means that the person standing behind you in the checkout line could easily look and feel perfectly well but be able to infect others.  None of this seems to matter in McCaughey’s thinking.  

If you manage to keep 2% or 3% of someone’s “particles” out of your own respiratory system it helps by that much.  Maybe enough that you won’t be sick. It appears that healthcare workers become very ill when they are infected.  Some believe that it is because they receive a much higher dose of coronavirus in the course of a day than most people.  It is logical. A small dose of arsenic might make you sick but a large dose will kill you. There appears to be a cumulative effect, so maybe by saving yourself 2% or 3% of all of the virus “particles” to which you are exposed everywhere you go, over and over, you might avoid getting sick.  And if you can keep from exposing these healthcare workers (and others) to your germs it would seem very worthwhile. It’s not always all about you. It helps you if the other person doesn’t get sick, right? That 2% or 3% should be considered just a bonus - it is the germs you don’t spread when wearing a mask that are the main thing.  That’s why it matters that everybody uses a mask.

I just checked yesterday - relying on the most recent (April 18) numbers, I checked three countries to compare their rates of infection with that of the U.S.   I used the Czech Republic (Czechia) and Taiwan as comparisons.  Taiwan had some advantages and some disadvantages. On the minus side, they are closely connected commercially and otherwise with mainland (Red) China, they are in very close proximity and they are a point of departure for many coming and going from the mainland.  They are also connected to Korea and other Asian Rim nations, all of which were exposed immediately to China’s virus. On the plus side, they know their enemy (and they know China IS their enemy) and they know they cannot believe or trust anything that comes from China.  They also are not in the web of the WHO, which was running around spreading lies on behalf of China. They acted independently in their own interest and began to step up production of face masks early in December and to check people coming into their country.

The Czech Republic is surrounded by European nations which are staggering under the pandemic.  They, like America, did not have sufficient face masks. Like us, they had to requisition what supply they had for their first-line healthcare workers.  They did require that people wear masks, however. The people’s only recourse was to make their own. People who could sew made them for friends, family and to donate for the cause.  No one goes out of doors in the Czech Republic without a mask. So, what the heck, just for comparison I will include one more nation - Germany, one of the Czechs’ neighbors. I am not bothering with mainland China because they don’t provide any accurate information about anything.  Look at the figures. Then you tell me - do you think it is worthwhile to wear “homemade” masks? Or is it just as well to breathe whatever you have on everyone you are near or talk to?

Nation -  Population  - Number of cases - Percentage - Number of deaths

USA: pop. 328.20 mil; no. of cases: 710,272; percentage of cases of population:.0021;   no. of deaths to date: 37,175

Taiwan:  pop. 23.78 mil; no. of cases: 398; percentage of cases of population: .000016; no. of deaths to date:  6

Czech Republic:  pop. 10.65 mil.; no. of cases: 6,553; percentage of cases of population:  .0006; no. of deaths to date: 176

Germany: pop. 83.02 mil; no. of cases:  141,397; percentage of cases of population;   .001; no. of deaths to date: 4,352

Numbers don’t lie and they don’t care about your feelings.  It is inconvenient to wear face masks or scarves but just as we are conditioned to covering when we cough or sneeze, during this pandemic we need to be aware that the coronavirus is far more contagious than ordinary ills and potentially deadly for some.   We have lost nearly 40,000 Americans (it may be over that number by the time you read this). Is it worth it to protect others? Or just yourself?  

McCaughey might be right about the minimal protection offered to the person wearing the homemade mask, but she is not right about the protection it offers in terms of community contagion if everyone is wearing a mask.  It is worth remembering that Taiwan is not providing N95 masks to its “ordinary” citizens - it is giving them 3 surgical-grade masks each, per week. It is obviously doing a whole lot of good. We should all contact our local health “authorities” and ask them to make wearing a face mask when inside a public building a requirement, regardless of what McCaughey says.  If we all wear masks we might hope to emulate the results that the Czech Republic and Taiwan are seeing.

Comments:  (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)