By Hudson George
Life is full of surprises as the older folks always say. Presently, wearing a mask is essential because human beings lives are being affected by a newly unknown deadly pandemic virus disease known as COVID 19 that does not discriminate whether a person is rich, poor or what race and ethnic background they belong to and where they come from.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO) experts, the main defense against the pandemic disease is to wear a mask for protection. In some countries it is mandatory for citizens to wear mask or face legal consequences of the state law. In some countries police are given legal powers to flog disobedient citizens or to arrest and charged them.
In other countries where it is not mandatory for citizens to wear a mask in open public, all business organisations are given the rights to enforce mandatory wearing of mask in their work place for both employees and customers so that the disease will not spread from person to person in crowded pace.
On the other hand prior to COVID 19 wearing of mask was a controversial topic, even though the practice is an old custom from the beginning of human civilisation. And even though some powerful countries that colonised other people tried to disband the traditional practice of wearing mask among tribal groups they colonised, the tradition still remains for entertainment and spiritual rituals and it will never die.
Nevertheless, although the colonisers scorned at tribal people who wear masks, they too have been wearing masks for their own personal benefits when it is essential for their wants, needs and protection. For example, prior to COVID 19 doctors and nurses always wear masks whenever they are involved in medical operations to save patients’ lives. For example, when a surgeon general is performing an operation on a patients the entire medical team is mandatory to wear masks because it saved and protect them from catching diseases that are contagious transmitted.
In addition, it is a known fact that not all human beings think the same. There are some people who refused to wear mask for various reasons. Some of them I talked to told me that if they have to die for COVID 19, it is their destiny to die from the disease, so they will not wear a mask. Others told me that the disease does not exist. It is a hoax created by the wealthiest influential people to create a vaccine with a microchip to track all human being globally.
However, with all the conspiracy theories about COVID 19, basically it is a scientific a fact that the disease is a contagious virus that is killing people, even though the percentage of patients who died from the disease is low to compare with the high numbers affected and survived.
In terms of Caribbean and CARICOM countries, the citizens are lucky. After Caribbean countries governments closed their borders to the outside world they were able to control the spread of the disease brought to the region by visitors coming mostly as a tourists and returning nationals living in the North America and Europe.
But the most interesting and controversial issue about wearing masks for protection is that, presently fundamental Christians are forced to abide the government laws to wear masks and close their churches in order to prevent the virus from spreading because religious prayers alone cannot stop the virus from spreading and affecting people’s lives. The fact is that evil spirit do not hide behind mask but wearing a mask can save a person from catching COVID 19 disease.
Additionally, it must be really uncomfortably for these strict Christian fundamentalists who believe that evil spirits hide behind masks and people who wear mask on carnival day are inviting the devil spirit, while they are masquerading and having a good time in the carnival Celebrations.
Well basically, I can speak for myself. I must admit that I am seared of catching COVID 19, so I bought five non-disposable masks that I can wash and wear. Therefore, I make sure that I wear a mask whenever I am outside in the public. However, I believe that prevention is better than cure.
Therefore, I am taking extra precautions to save myself and other people whom I interact with on a daily basis. So encouraging everybody to wear a mask as the best defense against COVID 19. For example, just recently a Chinese man told me that everybody wear a mask COVID 19 will extinct. The virus cannot survive without a host and the main host is a human being to spread it because it is contagious.
