West River Eagle

Editorial Board: Wearing masks saves lives



Governor Kristi Noem thinks she is giving the people of South Dakota good advice by making the wearing of a mask a matter of personal preference. What she is clearly communicating is an attitude of entitlement and a complete lack of concern for other people.

While governors and mayors around the country are mandating the wearing of masks for citizens in businesses and when out of the home, Noem called the science on mask “very mixed.”

While Chairman Frazier has issued an executive order requiring masks for staff and customers in all businesses, Noem said, “There’s not good science using them or not using them.”

The CDC, the World Health Organization, the Stanford Anesthesia and Informatics Media Lab, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, The Lancet, all recommend masks unequivocally. The list goes on and on. The debate of whether or not to wear a mask is over. Wear one!

Personally, this board goes even farther. In our families we have instituted a 14-day isolation when a family member has been exposed to someone positive for the virus. We did this even when there was only a possibility our family member had been exposed. One family kept their daughter in her room for 14 days with a fan venting out. She used the kitchen and the bathroom at the end of the day when everyone else was done and disinfected after herself. Since her work potentially exposes her to the virus every day, she still wears a mask in the house. In another family the father is currently isolating in a camper in the back yard for 14 days.

In contrast, Kristi Noem had prolonged exposure to a known positive case and has not changed her behavior or worn a mask since. She knowingly potentially exposed her family, staff, and the public to the virus.

On July 2 Noem spent the day with Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of Donald Trump, Jr. The two women even hugged. Ms. Guilfoyle tested positive for COVID-19 the following day. Knowing she had been exposed to the virus, Noem got on Air Force One with the President and his party. She reportedly did not wear a mask and spoke face to face with the President and interacted with others on the plane.

Because Noem was tested less than 24 hours after exposure and tested negative, she and her staff have defended her decision to mingle on Air Force One. Spokesperson Maggie Seidel said, “I don’t understand why Gov. Noem now needs to manage the president’s medical care.”

That’s the point, isn’t it? Wearing a mask isn’t managing someone else. It’s the single most visible thing you can do to show your respect for someone else. There are those who argue that a mask mandate violates personal bodily sovereignty. We find it ironic that a society who has had their sovereignty violated over and over again understands the vital importance of wearing a mask for the good of the whole, while a society which emphasizes personal responsibility declines to exercise that responsibility for the good of the whole.

Following the weekend at Mount Rushmore, the governor attended the PBR Monster Energy Team Challenge in Sioux Falls. A mask was nowhere in sight. She was tested again on July 7, negative.

We all know it can take 2-3 weeks for symptoms of infection to show up. 40% of cases of COVID-19 are transmitted by asymptomatic carriers. The science is becoming more and more clear that the virus spreads through airborne transmission and particles can float in the air for up to 30 hours.

Wearing a mask does four crucial things. First, it filters incoming airborne particles. A homemade mask, when fitted properly around the mouth and nose, can capture up to 70% of airborne particles. Second, it prevents asymptomatic carriers – even those who have tested negative — from infecting others. Third, It prevents you from touching your face. The coronavirus enters the body through mucus membranes. Fourth, it serves as a cue that the virus is present, even though invisible. A mask makes vigilance visible.

“Why would people who test negative self-quarantine?” reportedly asked Noem’s Communications Director Ian Fury said in an email to the Rapid City Journal. As the actions of this Board demonstrate, “To protect your family.”

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