Shared from the 5/26/2020 Houston Chronicle eEdition

CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

No masking the divide on face coverings

HEALTH: Confusing guidelines, personal beliefs drive Houstonians’ decisions

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Marie D. De Jesús / Staff photographer

Gabriela Baeza, 50, a UH professor, uses a mask to protect her mother.

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Melissa Phillip / Staff photographer

Mayor Sylvester Turner wears a mask at his news conferences.

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Brett Coomer / Staff photographer

Camara White wears a mask while picking up an HISD computer.

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Marie D. De Jesús / Staff photographer

Brent Taylor, 32, said he wears his mask when he goes out in public.

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Jon Shapley / Staff photographer

Roy Acosta has used his mask since his daughter gifted it to him.

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Brett Coomer / Staff photographer

Valencia Lewis wears a mask at a student pickup for computers.

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Marie D. De Jesús / Staff photographer

Vanessa Torres, 42, who lost a friend to COVID-19, covers up.

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Jon Shapley / Staff photographer

Emily Deatherage says she’s worn her mask since March 10.

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Marie D. De Jesús / Staff photographer

Julia Inés Ventura, 11, wears a mask to keep her grandmother safe.

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Melissa Phillip / Staff photographer

Amy Ward makes her face covering a fashion accessory.

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Marie D. De Jesús / Staff photographer

Bernardo Castro, 20, wears his mask when he goes out in public.

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Marie D. De Jesús / Staff photographer

Kara McIntyre, 39, fears possibly sickening other people.

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Photos by Marie D. De Jesús / Staff photographer

Brent Taylor, 32, a resident of The Woodlands, said he’s setting an example for his family by wearing a in public.

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Julia Inés Ventura, 11, wears a mask as she tries to learn how to skateboard during a time of social distancing.

Kara McIntyre remembers the day she likely contracted COVID-19 — she wasn’t wearing a face mask.

She was at Target and began to feel dizzy. Later she checked her temperature and had a fever. So she got tested for the novel coronavirus, and a few days later her results came back positive.

The 39-year-old radio DJ did not wear a mask before she was infected in March, something she said she feels guilty about now.

“I know I came in contact with a person who tested positive for it,” McIntyre said. “I wasn’t going out much, but I put gas in my car, went to the grocery store. Knowing I went through that and may have gotten other people sick, that’s terrifying.”

As the state reopens restaurants, shopping malls, gyms and salons, whether or not to wear a mask has become a hot-button issue. To some, it’s a way to signal one has their neighbor’s health and well-being in mind. To others, it’s an inconvenience or an attack on American freedoms.

Government officials don’t agree on the issue either. In late April, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo issued a mandatory mask order; within days it was overturned by Gov. Greg Abbott, who said Texans “ have every right to control (their) own path.”

“I wasn’t going out much, but I put gas in my car, went to the grocery store. Knowing I went through that and may have gotten other people sick, that’s terrifying.”
Kara McIntyre, 39, who tested positive in March

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone wear a face mask in public, in addition to practicing social distancing and frequent hand washing. But the president and vice president are often photographed without them.

Face masks have become a divisive issue even in Houston, where residents are known for coming together during times of crisis such as Hurricane Harvey, said Cathy Power, 51.

“What I gather is that there is a narrative out there that masks are for the weak. This is wrong — masks are worn to protect others; they are not for protecting yourself,” said Power, who lives in the East End and suffers chronic health issues. “They reduce the risk by keeping droplets from traveling as far as they would if you were not wearing a mask. It works best if we all wear them.”

People wear masks to protect others around them as studies have shown it has little to do with our own ability to not be infected, said Dr. David Persse, Houston’s health authority.

“Take a mirror, breathe on it and see the mist that forms. If you’re ill, the mist is full of virus,” Persse said. “Do the same thing with the mask in front of you; you’ll see far less of any mist on that mirror at all. That’s how it works.”

Kile Spelz, an independent sales consultant who splits her time between Houston and Florida, isn’t convinced.

“I don’t trust anything, and I question everything,” said Spelz,

39. “I like to be cautious and careful, but I’m not going to overreact to something that hasn’t been proven.”

Spelz does not wear a mask in public unless an employee at a business asks her to. When she does wear it, she doesn’t cover her nose because it makes it harder to breathe, she said.

The face mask issue has caused an uptick in insensitivity, she said. People have questioned her choice to not wear a mask in public even though she said she has no problem with people who choose to wear one.

“I think it’s more of ascare tactic to continue to push people to see what they’re willing to trade as far as their liberty,” Spelz said. “I think it’s an extra layer of control or influence from the government. I’m a little bit of a constitutionalist. I like our freedoms and that people are taken care of, but we have to take care of ourselves first, so we can take care of others better.”

In late March and early April, Houstonians were heeding officials’ calls to wear masks, Mayor Sylvester Turner said. Now, compliance is “on and off,” he said. To increase the number of Houstonians wearing masks or coverings in public, the city has launched a campaign called “Mask Up.”

“The very same things we needed to do in March, April and the beginning of May to flatten the virus are the same things we have to continue to do to keep everyone safe,” Turner said Wednesday. “We say ‘mask up’ to protect other people from you, especially when you’re out and about with other individuals.”

In The Woodlands, Brent Taylor ties a mask around his head every time he goes out into public. He can feel eyes on him as he roams the aisles at stores, and one person offered to “pray for him” on a recent trip to Home Depot.

As a 32-year-old new dad, Taylor said it’s disrespectful for people such as him not to wear masks in public. He is setting the example for his family by wearing one, he said.

“It’s very disconcerting and very disheartening to see people get aggressive and politicized on this issue,” he said. “I’m frustrated with people who are becoming hostile about it. It only takes one person to infect someone, and I can do my best and hopefully it will be enough to keep me and my family safe.

“Plenty of guys feel it’s their nature (to protect), so it seems more manly if you ask me.”

If viral videos of aggressive shoppers and footage from Bolivar Peninsula’s annual “Go Topless” Jeep Weekend are any indication, many have decided that personal protective equipment and social distancing are no longer priorities.

Persse said lackadaisical mask practices can be attributed to three things: misunderstanding the mask’s function, political agendas and people growing tired of wearing them.

“They’re right in that wearing masks does very little to protect you from someone around you —they’re loose-fitting masks,” Persse said. “Between the time someone inadvertently spreads the virus to somebody else, who then inevitably spreads it to other people, we’re going to be behind on that.”

People with underlying medical conditions or who have been diagnosed with a chronic disease, such as Power, are considered an at-risk group for the virus. Power wears leg braces to walk and hasn’t left her home without a face mask since March. She has Charcot-Marie Tooth disease, a hereditary neuromuscular disease that causes nerve damage and muscle disintegration over time.

A week ago, she read about 12-year-old Ernesto Guzman, another Charcot-Marie Tooth disease patient, dying from the virus.

Since March 16, she has been to a grocery store only five times — all during the hours set aside for the elderly and those with disabilities or underlying conditions. Otherwise, she stays home or goes to work as an education administration assistant in an isolated office.

“We are all in this together. I get it — it’s not comfortable, it’s getting hot outside,” she said. “But it is worth it if you help someone, and it makes a big difference for vulnerable populations.” julie.garcia@chron.com

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