By Mary O’KEEFE

Most may not like it, but wearing a face covering – in addition to other key precautions – can prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Americans were warned by several medical experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, that this winter would be “dark.”

COVID-19 has been a roller coaster of a pandemic with numbers spiking then almost flattening then shooting back up again. Fauci warned that we could see a “surge upon a surge” after Thanksgiving. Almost every state in the Union is seeing its pandemic positive case numbers rising dramatically, but what is even more concerning is the hospitalization and intensive care unit rates.

There is an easy way to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and that is following the guidelines of social distancing, thoroughly washing hands and wearing a mask.

A study by the University of Washington School of Medicine, published in Nature Medicine, found that from Sept. 22, 2020 to February 2021, 129,574 lives could be saved by people wearing a face covering/mask.
Reports by states that mandate face coverings and those that don’t show that wearing a face mask can slow the spread of COVID-19.

Perhaps it was pandemic fatigue that sparked people’s recent lack of focus regarding adhering to safety measures. According to several reports, millions of people traveled during the Thanksgiving holiday. Some let their guard down by having large gatherings and not taking precautions, like wearing a mask.

Wearing a mask is simple science. When someone speaks, coughs, sneezes, laughs, sings, etc. breath particles leave that person’s mouth and nose.

“COVID-19 spreads mainly from person to person through respiratory droplets. Respiratory droplets travel into the air when you cough, sneeze, talk, shout or sing. These droplets can then land in the mouths or noses of people who are near you or they may breathe these droplets in. Masks are a simple barrier to help prevent your respiratory droplets from reaching others. Studies show that masks reduce the spray of droplets when worn over the nose and mouth,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “You should wear a mask, even if you do not feel sick. This is because several studies have found that people with COVID-19 who never develop symptoms (asymptomatic) and those who are not yet showing symptoms (pre-symptomatic) can still spread the virus to other people. The main function of wearing a mask is to protect those around you, in case you are infected but not showing symptoms.”

“In simple terms it prevents transmission of the virus, plain and simple. It is undeniable regardless of your political affiliation,” said Dr. David Tashman, director of the USC Verdugo Hills Hospital Emergency Services. “Different masks protect at different degrees but all of them in some degree decrease the cloud of viral particles that a person emits. You are protecting others when you are wearing a mask because you are decreasing the amount of particles that you are emitting into the air.”

He added that although wearing a mask is primarily to protect others there is some evidence that a mask can protect the wearer as well.

“We don’t know how many, but we do know there is a [higher] percentage of people who are spreading the virus and don’t know they have it. In fact, most people are spreading the virus at a very high rate a day or two before they become symptomatic. So almost everyone who ends up COVID-19 positive is spreading the virus before they figure out they have it,” he said.

This is why COVID-19 has spread so quickly. Because some people may have it and never feel sick that does not stop them from spreading the virus.

“This is one sneaky virus,” Tashman added.

COVID-19 is similar to the flu in the way it spreads primarily through tiny micro droplets of saliva that emanate a few feet from the person, though there may be small droplets that hang in the air.

“We do know for sure if everyone wore a mask it would make a huge dent in the transmission of the virus,” he said.

Curbing the transmission is more important now than ever as California, and particularly Los Angeles County, is in the grip of a strong surge.

“Right now [COVID-19] is just everywhere. Our volume of patients [in the Emergency Room] is many, many times what it was last month,” he said.

At USC-VHH, 25% to 35% of those hospitalized are due to COVID-19. In past months they had approximately five COVID-19 patients.

“The virus has really, really ramped up in the last few weeks,” he said.

Tashman said he understands that people wanted to travel and be with family during Thanksgiving; however, that type of gathering is risky behavior, which is now coming to fruition.

“But that’s the nature of the virus,” he said.

With more people testing positive and going to the hospital the only way to knock the wave back is to stop the spread.

“That comes by social distancing, washing your hands and wearing a mask,” he said. He added that it takes practicing all those precautions, not just one.

“If you have airbags in your car that doesn’t mean you don’t have to wear a seatbelt. It doesn’t mean you can drive hundreds of miles an hour,” Tashman said. “You have to follow the speed limit, you have to wear a seat belt, have airbags … they are all safety measures that add up to make you safe.”

Tashman is looking forward to the release of the vaccine but also worries.

“I am really worried this is the darkest before the dawn. I am hopeful the vaccine will get us out of this nightmare,” he said. “I am 10,000 times more afraid of COVID than I am of the vaccine. I am worried that this last stretch of three-to-six months before this vaccine really becomes available is going to have the worst damage. The person who gets shot the day before the war ends is still dead, even though peace may have been declared the next day. Everyone has to remain vigilant; the sunlight is rising but we are still in the dead of night.”