Masks Save Us

It was dreadful to let anyone inside an establishment with masks, specifically in banks. More so if there are several of them. They could be robbers in disguise. In the new normal, all of them should get inside wearing masks. It’s most dreadful if one of them don’t.

It is just a matter of time that this situation could be taken advantage of. There may now be planning and plotting on ways to stage a “Money Heist” due to financial stress. The quarantine experience may have temporarily contained an unseen enemy, but it is also a direct punch on the face of economy. People lost their jobs and their earnings. No wonder people are desperate.

Photo Credit: Charlie Campbell, “The Middle Kingdom Reopens”, Time International Edition, May 25, 2020

The authorities know this. They are, to their credit, addressing both fronts – economy and health – in delicate balancing act with the limited resources they have. Some of these authorities put masks on their faces to hide their incompetence and misjudgments, justifying: “It’s all new and sudden and everybody have not prepared for it.”

In the midst of it all, wearing masks should not be a way to evade liabilities by taking comfort on the fact that one cannot be identified with it.  As a counter-measure, it is a good thing that establishments have instituted strict protocols such that whoever goes inside must first state their names and sickness history on a from. Others, such as the malls, require the visitors to show their real faces on their phones. This is just an aspect to address security. The aspect to address everyone’s convenience have retreated on a furlough.

“No mask, no entry” is now the norm. The era of masks has officially begun, although belatedly. Blame it on the WHO, which took some time to realize the importance of wearing masks. Had it not for the insistence of some countries with scientific support, WHO would not have bothered.

Comes now the huge demand for mass production of masks. There are shortages of officially declared safe masks. Blame this situation to the hoarders with business acumen beyond their conscience. It triggers many things, one of which is the creativity of the people to address the shortage. They resort to sewing their own masks and selling them to others, despite the fact that they may not be effective and safe ones to wear. They can address the purpose though, to be shielded from or prevent mouth droplets to spread over and beyond two meters of social distance.

This could be long or even forever. Society can make it as a culture, as it happens already in several countries even before this pandemic. In fact, mask-wearing is helping their society cope as it is already second nature to them. Their people could be saying: “What’s new? We are used to it.”

Then there is fashion on the lighter side. It is now possible to see on the runway, models wearing nothing but different styles of masks. Well, they could be worn on different parts of the body, so they must not skip the sensitive parts.