COVID-19 has been in Australia since February, but until now most of the cases were those returning from overseas. 

It began in Victoria with a few clusters, and now the state is in lockdown again. But regardless of that, COVID-19 has wriggled its way across the border into New South Wales – with more and more new outbreaks coming to light by the day. Soon, NSW will meet the same fate as Victoria.

So I decided to buy myself a mask…

I knew about the efficacy of masks even way back in February. Not just from medical experts, but because covering any opening will add some sort of resistance to whatever is coming out of it. If you close your door in the winter, the heat will stay inside. If you fart under your bedsheets and hold them down, your nose won’t know any different. And if you try to spit at someone through even the thinnest cloth, they likely won’t feel it.

Knowing these simple facts makes me wonder why some people refuse to buy one and wear it in the first place. But it seems a lot of those who refuse aren’t doing it because they think masks don’t work. They do it because they don’t see the need.

It’s either a hoax or it’s just not a big deal. And this is exactly why COVID-19 is spreading like wildfire in free-thinking countries.

It simply cannot be a hoax…

I don’t know how anyone could consider COVID-19 as an elaborate hoax. Because what’s the point of putting on such a global sham? No government would ever allow this, purely for an economic sake. Because if other countries go bust, trading evaporates and economies deplete. And because tourism is at an all-time low right now, all countries will need to rely on boosting local economies to survive.

Honestly, faking this virus just does not seem worth it.

Also, how on earth could a global collective keep up such a facade? Not just governments, but medical professionals, police officers and heaps of ordinary citizens who are willing to lie in hospital beds pretending to be sick? On top of this, you have to accept the fact that all these people sit on different sides of the political spectrum.

If there was a hoax, we’d surely know by now.

And it simply isn’t a minor problem…

Of course, there are others who think the global response is well overdone. They might believe it’s real, indeed, but it’s a non-issue to them. And that’s probably true if they are healthy and young. But medical professionals aren’t worried about young, healthy people – they’re worried about the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

And right now, many of them are dying at record rates. In fact, COVID-19 is causing more death than any other virus right now. Including Malaria. In fact, it’s so bad that it has surpassed lung and breast cancer deaths.

And that’s why I’ve bought a mask…

Unfortunately, this virus doesn’t pick and choose its host. If you’ve got a heartbeat and a pair of lungs, you have just as much chance of contracting COVID-19 as anyone else. And while it may not affect you at all, you can easily spread it to others who will be affected.

What’s worse is that if you are young and healthy, you probably won’t even get any symptoms. Which means you won’t likely get a test and will never know if you have COVID-19.

Why do you think STIs are still rampant?

So even though you might think you don’t have it, it’s always best to take precautions. Not just for your sake, but for those around you. For your elderly parents or grandparents, for sick friends who might not fare well from COVID-19. And even for the frontline workers who risk their lives to save ours.

I’ve bought a mask, not just because I know it’s real and dangerous, but because I don’t want to be the person who catches it and shares it with others. I don’t want to be the reason for someone else’s death.

And that’s why you should wear a mask, too.

Feature image: Anastasiia Chepinska on Unsplash