The Importance of Masks During a Pandemic, Do You Still Want To Ignore Not To Use Them?

Since the Covid-19 outbreak attacked the whole world in early 2020, millions of people have been infected and the virus has mutated so that the Covid-19 variant appears with different levels of transmission.

The last variant that just appeared, namely the Omicron variant, is known to have a very high transmission rate. The government is also increasingly aggressively imposing “double masks” for people who are active outside the home.

The coronavirus itself is known to spread through droplets produced from the nose or mouth when sneezing, coughing, and even talking. The use of masks is very important in reducing the spread of Covid-19. The mask layer itself is very effective in preventing us from being hit by droplet particles from other people.

Some people are still reluctant to use masks on the grounds that the latest variant of Covid-19 does not cause too severe symptoms. But in fact, there are also victims who have died from the Omicron variant of Covid-19. This proves that the assumption that the symptoms experienced by sufferers of Covid-19 are not necessarily true.

Previously, there was also information that the use of masks can cause hypercapnia or a condition in which the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood is too high, causing symptoms such as dizziness, headaches and shortness of breath. Information that is not based on facts makes more and more people reluctant to wear masks.

Even though the fact is, using a mask does not make a person inhale more carbon dioxide, nor does it reduce the amount of oxygen inhaled. The thickness of the mask layer has been designed so that oxygen and carbon dioxide particles, which are very small in size, can pass through the layer easily. Different things do not apply to droplets, droplet particles are known to be much larger in size than air particles. So it is usually not easy for droplets to penetrate the mask layer.

Data from the CDC (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention) shows that people in California who use material masks reduce their risk of being infected with Covid-19 by 56% and those who use medical masks by up to 66%. Apart from being in crowded open places, masks must also be used for people who are active indoors.

Then, even if someone has been vaccinated or has even been infected with Covid-19, still wear a mask obediently. Because even though there are already antibodies formed in the body, transmission of Covid-19 is still very likely to occur. There is still no certainty when this pandemic will end soon, therefore it is important for us to always comply with health protocols so that the transmission rate of Covid-19 can be further reduced.

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