Editorial | Mask: new fashion trend

Among the unsettling sights provoked by the current coronavirus pandemic is the near widespread wearing of protective masks and face shields. All over the world, scores of adults and children are donning masks when appearing in public, and here in Jamaica, more people are heeding this piece of advice handed out by healthcare professionals.

We observe that some people have been creative in making fashionable masks to complement their outfits. They come in different shapes, sizes, and colours, and some are even fitted with filters. It’s beginning to look like masks, once scorned as an accessory of armed bandits, may remain an important part of our future lives if the predictions hold true that other deadly viruses are on the horizon.

Indeed, the wearing of protective masks is being touted as a condition for reopening economies, which have been crippled by the onslaught of the virus.

Even though more persons are wearing masks and appear to be washing their hands and self-isolating, there is still concern about the lack of adherence to social distancing.

RATE OF TRANSMISSION

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based in the United States, has said that small differences in how committed people are to social distancing are affecting the rate of transmission of the virus.

The Holness administration has reduced the number of persons permitted in public gatherings and has instituted curfews, which present shorter hours for commercial activities and opportunities for people to socialise. The rest is, essentially, left up to individuals to exhibit the necessary discipline and comply with the guidelines.

The experts leading the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak admit that they are on a learning curve and that each day, they are getting to know more about this novel coronavirus. One thing on which they all agree, however, is this: social distancing is one of the ways to slow the exponential spread of the disease. And if one cannot maintain the distance, then face coverings may help to protect one.

This has not been a very good week for Jamaica as we watched the number of confirmed cases climb to over 140, with new local cases about to surpass imported ones.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WHISTLE-BLOWERS

This big spike in infections from a St Catherine BPO outfit has sent ripples of fear in the society as it foretells the start of community infections.

The new cases have also highlighted the urgent need for vastly more islandwide testing. We note the introduction of mobile testing units and trust that when these go into full effect, the country can get a sense of what the true numbers are. The international data show that four out of five persons did not know they had the virus and ended up infecting others.

If things get worse, the Government has room to tighten restrictions on people’s movements. In this age of social media, it is fairly easy to point the authorities to persons who are breaking the rules. Persons bent on holding parties and sessions are not observing social distancing, and neighbours should report these activities. In these desperate times, neighbourhood whistle-blowers may help save lives by taking a photograph and pointing the authorities to persons who are breaching curfews and ignoring guidelines.

For the foreseeable future, we may have to wear masks, blending this new accessory with business attire and elegantly casual outfits. Haute couture has a way of taking street fashions and elevating them to luxury items. We boldly predict that whenever we emerge from isolation post-COVID-19, the utilitarian mask will be making the defining fashion statement of our time.