To mask or not: Newsday readers weigh in
Travelers wearing masks at Kennedy Airport on April 19.Unite d States District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Florida ruled the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had overstepped its authority in requiring masks on public transportation. Credit: Getty Images/Spencer Platt
Last week, I asked for your thoughts about masking and COVID-19, as mandates vanish while the virus still circulates. You responded with a rich collection of emails that offer insight into our collective thinking.
It's not surprising that your views are varied and well-articulated. This is Long Island and — to borrow from our greatest poet — we contain multitudes.
Within that variety, some themes resonated.
For many of you, continued masking — especially while in indoor venues — is simply common sense. Philip Como of Sea Cliff said he is "not willing to tempt fate. I don't care what anyone says, I just wear a mask … I'm hoping we reach a point where the coast is clear but until then …"
Amityville masker Ruth Sussman, 91, plays the percentages. "I’m going with the odds," she said. "What other people do is up to them, but what I am doing, I believe, is the safest procedure for me."
Hauppauge boomer Lisa Brant, alarmed by a family member in his mid-30s who was "devastated" by the virus and now has long-COVID symptoms, tapped an altruism cited by many. She wears a mask "to protect myself, my family and others as this virus will peak and pause and wax and wane. It is the only thing asked of my generation and I believe it's the least I can do to be of help in ending it."
And Dianne Guarino of Northport employs an "unnecessary risk" baseline in deciding when to mask: "If I feel I am at a risk, I will wear a mask for myself. If I felt that I was an obvious risk to someone else, I would wear a mask."
Guarino's risk calculus is one familiar to many readers, who plug their own factors into the equation. The health of her immunocompromised daughter is key for Candace Burns of Brentwood. Peter Block, a heart attack survivor from Roslyn Heights, wears a mask especially during thrice-weekly trips to the gym because of many unmasked younger people some of whom, he presumes, also are unvaccinated — a point echoed by Bill Poy of Ridge, who is "horrified by some people's failure to take precautions."
Some of you offered advice — like Teresa Rueda of Bethpage, who will soon resume commuting into New York City. "Really hope the LIRR adopts a mask-car alternative similar to the quiet car," she wrote.
Some non-maskers cited principle — like Huntington's Rainer Schwarz, who said, "For me masking has been theater on the part of government and social signaling for individuals." Others, like Edward Randazzo of Long Beach, focused on what he observed: "The improper use of masks could be seen every minute of every day while the mandate was in place."
Roger Rothman of Commack expressed a discontent with government echoed by several readers: "Saying one thing today and changing it subsequently fosters zero confidence in us, the very people govt. is SUPPOSED to represent!"
Non-maskers employ a calculus, too. Scott Schubert of Dix Hills cited America's high vaccination rate, low hospitalization rate, and the availability of therapeutics and treatment protocols. Richard H. Staudt of Mt. Sinai noted that most COVID deaths are among the unvaccinated: "For whatever their reason, playing 'Russian Roulette' is their choice."
Several readers were dismayed at pandemic polarization: "Never, never in my wildest imagination could I ever have conceived this as political," wrote Carolyn Jonas of Nesconset.
Your emails show you've thought a lot about the pandemic, and wish it was over. And many among you agree with Jonas: "No one knows who will become ill. Why not do the best you can for yourself and others? That’s all: just do the best you can."
Columnist Michael Dobie's opinions are his own.
Michael Dobie is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
