I have had a number of people reach out to me over the last couple of weeks asking me to write something to help encourage residents to wear their masks when outside their homes. I spent a lot of time last week researching and below is what I’d like to share with you.

We are all concerned about the rapid spread of COVID-19. During the month of June, and especially over the last 2 weeks, we have seen a steady rise in the number of people testing positive in Texas. This is not only because we are doing more tests, nor is it because visitors are testing positive while here. Our numbers are now rising precipitously because we are spreading it amongst ourselves. If we continue to see case numbers increase in this way, we all should be concerned that Texas will be forced to again mandate to close our doors and isolate. This will not only cause loss of life but will further damage our economy. None of us want that.

In fact, we are certain that everyone wants COVID-19 to just GO AWAY, but the hard truth is that COVID-19 is a contagious disease, easily spread by respiratory droplets that pass from person to person when we cough, sneeze, talk, laugh, breath hard or sing. COVID-19 is not just another cold virus. It is much deadlier than the flu, a virus that also takes a high toll on human life every year. In just over three months, despite strict physical distancing in most places, we have had three times as many deaths from COVID-19 in the United States as the entire 2018-2019 flu season. (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2018-2019.html)

Here in Texas, it appears that we effectively socially distanced early in the pandemic, before we had very many cases. We were able to keep our case counts very low for quite a while. Then, as we learned more about the nature of the virus as well as the positive and negative effects of strict physical distancing, we moved through the color-coded phases of the state response. As much as we may want life to return to “normal,” this is not what the yellow or even the green phases call for. Wearing masks in public places and social distancing when possible are essential parts of the guidelines for the yellow phase and the safe green phase. Coronavirus is here to stay and should affect our behavior for the foreseeable future until a safe vaccine is developed or effective treatments are identified. Adherence to these guidelines is more important now than ever.

We’ve all heard that COVID-19 affects older people to a far greater extent than younger adults and children. People with certain underlying conditions of any age are also at greater risk of doing poorly if they get COVID-19.

These underlying health conditions are very common and include (but are not limited to) diabetes, obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, moderate to severe asthma, liver disease, cancer, and other diseases that cause weakened immune systems. We are grateful that COVID-19 has a less devastating impact on kids and younger adults without certain health conditions, but it is important to realize that kids and younger adults are not unaffected. In fact, we are currently seeing most of our positive tests in people aged 30 to 49. People in this age category, some of whom may not have symptoms, are unknowingly spreading the virus to others at higher risk. You may not know who in your circle is at risk of dying from this disease or who has loved ones at risk.

What we are dealing with now is a numbers game. We cannot reduce the number of cases or deaths to zero, but we do have it within our collective power to decrease both the negative economic and health impacts of this unfortunate situation. Every single one of us has an important role to play.

Here’s what we can all do:

1. Acknowledge that this is a long-term game – a marathon not a sprint.
2. Realize that public health is a team sport, and only works if we support each other.
3. Maintain a six-foot distance from others whenever possible, especially when in public places. Putting this space between us allows most droplets to disperse before they reach someone else.
4. Wear a mask when in public:

• You wear a mask to protect yourself, but also to protect others from you (if you are infected but have no symptoms). There is good evidence that, if we all wear masks, transmission of the virus drops significantly. 
• You wear a mask to help protect the store clerk who may be over the age of 60 or have an underlying health condition, or your mechanic who has diabetes and needs to work to support his family. You may only be within six feet of one person while in a store or office, but these people may encounter greater than 100 people in close range on any given day.
• Not everyone can or should wear a mask. Facial coverings are not recommended for children less than age two or people with health conditions such as asthma, COPD or a tendency to hyperventilate. It is not your job or our job to be the mask police in public. Let’s give others the benefit of the doubt and do our best to wear masks when within 6 feet of others.
• Remember, wearing a mask is not a sign of weakness, fear or ignorance. It is a sign that you care and is one way that each of us can contribute to controlling the spread of COVID-19. Limit the size of social gatherings. Of course, the virus can still spread within groups of this size, so we encourage you to exercise personal responsibility and take precautions regarding hand hygiene, mask wearing and keeping a safe distance from others.

This is a complex problem that requires a consistent and persistent approach. We all want to slow down and control the spread of the disease, keep our economy thriving, open up our schools and ensure individuals remain healthy and families strong.

As management, we are committed to being there for you when you need us. We hope that you, in turn, will help us in our effort to provide the guidance and care that our community needs by doing your part to keep the numbers as low as reasonably possible. Doing so will not only save lives but will also allow our economy and preferred way of life to return to normal sooner rather than later. We will get through this, but we must pull together as a community, trust in good science (acknowledging that this is a process and we are learning new things daily), use common sense and share a belief in our collective humanity.