With the coronavirus pandemic in the US worsening day by day, health professionals are now devising new plans that can help the country control the crisis as soon as possible. In the past few weeks, the country has recorded a groundbreaking number of cases every single day of the week.
Since the start of the pandemic in the country, the Trump administration has received backlash for slow and ineffective responses to the rising number of cases.
According to many health experts, the rapid increase in infections across all states is a result of reopening the states too soon and the absence of strict coronavirus rules which are mandatory to control virus transmission.
For instance, health organizations in all countries including the World Health Organization have emphasized the importance of wearing a face covering. Previous research has also shown that masks make a significant difference during health epidemics.
Now, since the airborne transmission of coronavirus is confirmed, the importance of wearing a mask is greater than ever.
In consonance with the guidelines from the WHO, a face covering should be worn in all public spaces including offices, grocery stores, and even inside apartment buildings.
Even though wearing a mask is deemed fundamental by all health agencies, the practice has still not been mandated in many of the states in the US. Recently, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that not wearing a mask is a primary contributor to the rising number of coronavirus cases.
In addition, the director of the health agency, Dr. Robert Redfield, also added that if all US states mandate wearing a mask, the country could control the coronavirus pandemic in a time period of one to two months.
RELATED: Russia Announces that a Coronavirus Vaccine Will be Ready before Next Month
During an interview with Dr. Howard Bauchner of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Redfield said “The time is now. I think if we could get everybody to wear a mask right now I think in four, six, eight weeks we could bring this epidemic under control.”
The coronavirus pandemic in the US has been noted to worsen primarily after lifting the first lockdown restrictions in June. Many of the states which previously had a lower number of cases and the death toll suddenly had record-high increases merely two weeks after easing of restrictions.
For example, the state of Arizona had a controlled number of cases prior to the lockdown. Many of the residents were seen to be following restrictions and preventive measures strictly.
However, as soon as the lockdown was over the number of cases started to increase quickly as people no longer wore masks and followed other instructions. Now, the state is amongst the worst-hit along with Florida, South Carolina, and Michigan.
During the early days of the pandemic, the CDC had repeated advised on mandating the use of face masks in public while quoting a study on two Missouri workers who were infected but did not transmit the virus to their clients due to face coverings.
Currently, the governors of some states including California and Texas have mandated face masks in places where social distancing may be difficult. Overall, the US has no policy for wearing a face mask in public.
Had the government made face masks compulsory at the starting of the crisis, the coronavirus pandemic in the US would not be as bad as it is at the moment.
