31 Years of Wearing a Mask
For over 31 years I owned a manufacturing company where we applied many different types of protective coatings on steel pipe for corrosion protection.
During this time I required my employees to wear the proper protective clothing and equipment. This ranged from ear plugs to glasses to gloves to protective clothing to industrial face masks. My employees were required to read the MSDS reports showing the various chemicals, solvents, and materials contained in the coatings that they were applying as well so as to understand the dangers of exposure.
Each day when work started, they willingly put on the needed protective equipment. Many of the protective coatings had solvent fumes, or heat caused fumes that you could see, or smell other materials that could be harmful. You could smell, or see, the solvents and fumes. In some cases you could hear large noises for which you needed ear protection.
Because you could smell, see, or hear harmful effects, no one had to be told to use their protective gear, most were willing to put the gear on before starting the application processes.
Today the silent killer of the COVID-19 virus is out there but you can not see it, you can not smell it, and you can not hear it. Because of this danger, it is important that you consider that anyone around you can have it and you may not know it.
It is important that we all wear masks at this time. It would be nice if would could all be warned of who has the virus, but this is not the case. So protect yourself and those around you, please wear your mask. You should wear your mask in all work spaces. You should wear your mask in grocery stores. You should wear your mask in restaurants. You should wear your mask in all areas of multiple people.
In a combined zoom call with Dr. Marc Harrison, CEO of Intermountain Healthcare, it was brought forth that our state's hospital capacity rate is at 62%. If the infection rate continues to climb it could overwhelm our hospital resources. In that case, the death rate from the virus would double or triple according to him. The hospitals simply would not have the doctors, nurses, or equipment needed to give the proper care.
Those who are at high risk (over 65, obese, with diabetes, lung or heart disease, or have cancer) should stay home and stay safe. Of those who have died over 80% are 65 or older. But many who have been infected and lived, may suffer health effects from the virus for years.
Please stop the spread and wear your face masks. To protect yourself from this silent and invisible killer, take the proper precautions and wear your masks. It seems silly not to take the necessary precautions to protect you and your family.
If wearing your mask will lower the rate of infection by say 30% from being around someone infected then wear your mask. If wearing your mask while being around someone who is infected but who also is wearing their mask could lower your rate of infection by say 85% then it is worth it.
The way to keep our hospitals open with the full capacity to treat patients with the COVID-19 virus is for all of us to take our own personal responsibility and keep the infection rate down by each of us wearing our masks.
So I would hope that before you go out to work, or shop, or eat, that you would willingly put on your protective gear - a face mask - to keep you, your family, and those around you safe from the harmful effects of this prevalent danger facing us.
Mayor Brunst
