As of July 1st, 2020, over 2.72 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the United States, which account for about a quarter of cases globally. With new cases at an all time high, further measures need to be taken both statewide and federally in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 to prevent even more loss of life.
Currently, only 18 states are requiring individuals to wear face masks while out in public (Kim et al., 2020). The bare minimum that needs to be done nationwide is for Congress to draft a bill that mandates ALL Americans aged 2 and over (with the exception of those that cannot due to medical conditions) to wear face masks while in public spaces to limit the spread of the virus.
Why is this important?
I am a young adult, who is at a relatively low risk of COVID-19 to be fatal for myself, but this does not mean that I cannot contract this virus. My 73 year old Papa is a Type 2 Diabetic, which mean he IS at high risk to die from COVID-19. He, along with the millions of elderly and individuals with auto-immune disorders in the US are fatally at risk.
According to Rachael Rettner of Live Science, "Without a mask, droplets produced during coughing can travel up to 12 feet. With a mask, this distance is reduced to just a few inches," (Rettner, 2020). A COVID-19 carrier without a mask has a 70% chance to transmit the virus to an individual wearing a mask. However, if a COVID-19 carrier wears a mask, there is only a 5% probability of transmitting the virus to someone not wearing a mask, and a 1.5% probability to someone wearing a mask, (Roseland, NJ; 2020).
Mrs. Pelosi, ALL Americans are at risk of contracting this virus, and MILLIONS are at risk of dying from COVID-19. We needed Congress to act on this yesterday! If you will not do this for everybody, at the very least, do this for the ones that you love. Everybody loves someone, and everybody can lose someone. Please, sign this and tell Congress that they need to act now!
Cited Works:
Rettner, R. (2020, June 30). Visualization shows exactly how face masks stop COVID-19 transmission. Retrieved July 01, 2020, from https://www.livescience.com/face-mask-visualization-droplets-covid-19.html
Roseland, New Jersey. (2020, May 7). COVID-19 - Why Mask? Retrieved July 01, 2020, from https://www.roselandnj.org/home/news/covid-19-why-mask
Kim, A., Andrew, S., & Froio, J. (2020, June 25). These are the states requiring people to wear masks when out in public. Retrieved July 01, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/19/us/states-face-mask-coronavirus-trnd/index.html
How it will be delivered
As well as an email of all of the signatures, I will plan to host a virtual conference to discuss this movement if enough signatures are obtained.
