By Joshua Corcuera
Just a reminder, believe in the importance of properly wearing face masks in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lawyer Larry Gadon trended online recently when he was seen wearing a face shield with his face mask taped behind it. Obviously, he received backlash because such action is inconsistent with public health protocol to wear masks properly. However, the lawyer defended his action claiming that a strong immune system is more important than wearing masks, and the fear brought by COVID-19 is created by paranoia. His claims, however, stand on a fragile foundation and can be easily refuted by science.
Wearing masks against a contagious illness is important
Larry Gadon claimed that a strong immune system is more important than wearing face masks. This is false because in fighting a contagious disease wearing face masks is undoubtedly essential. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. More importantly, not everyone can be healthy especially those who are old and those who are affected by underlying medical conditions. With this, we must ask why we should wait for the disease to infect us when we can prevent ourselves from being affected at all? By flattening the curve and getting rid of the viral disease, even the elderly and other high-risk groups who cannot attain a strong immune system are safe since they cannot be infected in the first place.
According to endcoronavirus.org, which is composed of medical experts from various Western universities, face masks for everyone is one of the actions required to win against the coronavirus. In case a person sneezed or coughed while wearing a face mask, there is a smaller chance for that person to transmit droplets to people nearby. In effect, when people wear face masks in public spaces all the time, there is a reduction in the overall transmission of viruses which decreases the chances of infection. Hence, people should seriously consider proper wearing of face masks as a protection against a highly contagious illness such as COVID-19.
The fear brought by COVID-19 is real
Another claim put forward by the lawyer is that the COVID-19 fear is brought by paranoia. If the fact that a contagious disease afflicted more than twenty million lives and killed hundreds of thousands in just eight months does not scare you, I don’t know what will. One death is one too many, thousands of lives being cut short is indeed a tragedy, and a person succumbing to the disease means a family is mourning and worrying about what lies ahead. This pandemic is not being sensationalized by anyone as Gadon claims, for it’s genuinely worrisome when colorful lives turn into mere numbers and statistics in the blink of an eye.
It is important to take note as well that Gadon’s sentiment is shared by some world leaders such as Brazil’s Bolsonaro. The President of Brazil said that COVID-19 is just a little flu and is a media trick against him. As of writing, Brazil has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world at more than 3 million with over a hundred thousand deaths. With this example, it’s safe to say that belittling or underestimating the disease, like what Gadon seems to imply, is a bad thing.
Reminder: Listen to the right experts
Lawyers are certainly brilliant people, in fact I aspire to be one in the near future. But we all know that we should consult medical staff when facing medical problems. In the West, a growing amount of people are protesting against wearing face masks — the consequences are harsh as they become coronavirus hotspots. At the end of the day, the best people to listen to in dealing with this pandemic and protecting ourselves are medical experts such as doctors, nurses, and epidemiologists. After all, they’re the ones who are trained and specialized in dealing with the problems our society is now facing. And not some sort of conspiracy theorist whose claims are scientifically misleading and can lead society to a dangerous path.
