COVID restrictions are about caring for others

Pierre Obendrauf/PostMedia News

       “Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking”, are words to live by, penned by H. Jackson Brown, Jr, author of the best-selling Life’s Little Instruction Book.

In these  COVID times, as I’ve come to call this phase of my life, character matters more than ever. We see a light being shone on it in the political arena as regions in many countries are facing elections for new leadership. The character of a leader tends to steer the behaviour of those being led. That’s why I”m glad I live in Canada, specifically, in New Brunswick, where people don’t have to work too hard to be WE people. Then there are those firmly entrenched in the ME zone with regard to adherence to wearing face masks. Actually, they’re more nose and mouth coverings, to prevent spread of  droplets from person to person. Droplets that may or may not carry the COVID virus. We cannot possibly know if we are carriers/spreaders.

This past Saturday, I was in the city, dividing my time between wheeling and walking.  While  uprightly mobile, my own mask in place, I encountered a mask-free woman with a man who was wearing one; I commented on the lack of nose and mouth covering. She said she couldn’t wear a mask and left it at that, as did I. She was not socially distanced from people around her, some of whom were also maskless. Many teens and younger people amongst them.

I’m not alone in wondering why so many are oppositional to wearing a mask. To use the “I have asthma,” or “I have a heart condition,”  among many rationales for non-compliance,  selfishly dismisses the rights of everyone else, particularly if non-compliance with mask-wearing is accompanied by zero social distancing.

I’ve read about the ‘face mask exemption cards’. Psst! They’re fake! I saw one online that was riddled with errors and had to chuckle. At least the author could have proofread before circulating hither and yon, which begs a question -  do medical exemptions for face masks really exist? As a matter of course, coverings should not be placed on children under age 2 or anyone who has trouble breathing, is unconscious or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance. That’s reasonable.

Frankly, those who claim they can’t wear a mask for health reasons think they’re fooling the rest of us. They’re not! If they can wear a scarf over their face for seveal hours while outside in winter weather, they can sure as heck wear a covering for an hour or two in the mall or grocery shopping. Mutual respect is the order of the days ahead. The oppositional must accept that and just get on with their lives without making excuses for being boorish.

Though I’ve not consulted them, I’m sure that many health professionals would say that exemptions aren’t necessary. If one had serious burns on the face and covering it would cause pain, then of course, don’t wear a covering. That makes sense. But, with that, one must still socially distance.

  Treating others as we would like to be treated is a maxim that many of us learned at home before we even started our sit down and be still formal education. It concerns me, given I live in a province with more aging/senior citizens than young people, that those who are young are not being respectful of their elders. The press on COVID is clear. It is here for the long haul unless people start taking it seriously and function in a way that flattens the curve and reduces spread.

Many families have lost businesses due to COVID; they will struggle for many years to come, so it’s incumbent upon all of us to just stop making excuses for not ‘going along to get along’ so that we can, as a province and as a country, get ahead of this virus and contribute to economic recovery across communities. Only  when that happens will we be able to function with a greater degree of security that we are less at risk than several months ago. To those who continue to ‘push the envelope’, your behaviour puts everyone at risk. You have to know that. You have to accept that reality of this virus. It respects no one. Not even you.

As we move beyond our bubbles and expand our travels in and around this province and others, we absolutely must practice social distancing and mask wearing. It’s really not that difficult when we realize that doing just those two things ensures that we can stay ‘open for business’. Think about what that means for your family in the long term.

Carla Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca

COVID isn’t going anywhere. Wear a mask!

Photo: Brandon Harder/Postmedia

       A recent scary headline - “Melbourne woman 'smashes police officer's head into concrete when told to wear a face mask”, brings me to reference of my last column, which drew the ire of two readers, one a ‘usual suspect’ who seems to be oppositional about everything, if his comments about mask wearing were any indication.

He called me ‘Doctor Fear’. I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on the internet nor in my column. My late father was a doctor; an anaesthesiologist in Bath, and his colleague, a surgeon, and childhood neighbour with 4 sons, two of whom are doctors, would be right up there with my Dad, in opposition to all the naysayers dismissing the importance of masks. 

  Masks and social distancing are VITAL if we are to get control of the spread of COVID and people need to accept that compliance is expected from everyone. No one is suggesting that masks be worn for 12-18 hours/day. Far too many people are taking the ‘violation of rights’ to an extreme without giving thought to the reality that in NOT wearing a mask, they impact the health and safety of those around them. Naysayers are committing crimes against store/shop/restaurant owners and staff who are attempting to enforce public safety rules meant to protect all.  Why? Everyone wants to emotionally, physically, mentally and financially survive the impact of COVID. Financial survival supports all the rest and when naysayers bully staff at their usual places of food shopping, dining and other venues, they affect the lives of everyone, not just the person at whom they’re screaming. Their rage is misplaced and they really should consider seeking counsel. To be that out of control is very telling that they are struggling with the impact of COVID, taking it out on anyone and everyone. If the news coming from the US is any indication, service people are getting seriously injured just trying to do their job. The violence against them must stop. Local police need to press charges each and every time, with ZERO  passes with a verbal warning. Not enough! Courts must levy fines against violent persons inflicting physical harm on people who are struggling to cope  in these very challenging times.

He who left the misinformed comment  regarding my last column functions under the misapprehension that only a doctor should be recommended mask wearing during a pandemic. Hmm! His doctor recommended no mask for him for health reasons. He didn’t go into them and I wasn’t going to ask. The point is, if he can’t wear a mask, he CAN socially distance. It’s about thinking, developing a plan and being respectful. If he cannot do that, then the majority, I’m sure, would suggest he just stay home and have all his needs met remotely. Too much negative energy drags everyone down during these stressful times; we must always be aware of that and act accordingly.

Another person, a female, suggested that I wasn’t medically qualified. There’s that that ‘you’re not a doctor’ reference again. What I am is a person who reads, who accepts the science associated with the course of the COVID virus and its pandemic status. 

I function within parameters that will keep me and those around me safe. This woman was advocating the use of  hydroxychloroquine zinc and zithromas. There is little support for the efficacy of Hydroxychloroquine and the majority of clinicians strongly discourage its use. But people will listen to wrong voices of those who are not in the medical profession and take that drug without fully appreciating what it may do to them if they have any comorbidities. For myself, living with cardiac defect, there’s no way I’d ever take it and risk cardiac event death.

Mask wearing should not cause such violence. Those who are so oppositional must look to the why of their behaviour; they’re afraid and they need to admit it. They also need to acknowledge that those around them are afraid as well and lashing out does far more harm to everyone than they seem to comprehend. When a mask violator beats in the face of the person serving him coffee because he didn’t wear a mask and she  quits her job, what does he think happens next? That woman is out of income that supported her family. The coffee shop has to fill her job. The cycle of abuses continue as panicked patrons with a misguided sense of their own importance to the exclusion of all else puts everyone at greater risk. Community response to mask violation must be swift; so too,  action against people violating the rights of those enforcing the laws must also be impactful.

Mask ON!

Carla Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca