COVID-19 has been an issue for more than half a year. I assume that everyone is getting sick of this situation where we have to keep social distancing and sanitizing our hand over and over again. However, even if it’s annoying to keep those social norms, we still have to do it. One of the most important things we can do to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to wear masks. 

The main reason for wearing a mask is to prevent COVID-19 from spreading in the form of droplets. Inhaling somebody else’s saliva is one way of contracting the virus. According to research, whenever a person talks, people within 2 meters away from that person are affected by the saliva. Furthermore, when a person coughs, an area within a 5-meter radius is not safe from his saliva. And since those saliva droplets are so small, it’s hard for us to notice that we are actually affected. For these reasons, there is a significant difference between wearing a mask and not wearing a mask. 

Stereotypes of the kind of people who wear masks contribute to resistance to wearing the mask. Many people all around the world,  think that we should only wear masks when we are feeling sick. In fact, we also have to wear a mask when we are not feeling sick. Wearing a mask will help us avoid catching COVID-19 because it blocks out other people’s droplets. There are some people that have COVID-19 but do not show any symptoms. In this case, they might think that they are healthy and not wear a mask but could still be responsible for the spread of germs. So, even if you are feeling well, wear the mask.

Many of us are not familiar with wearing masks. However, it’s very important to wear masks in crowded, public places because it will help to stop COVID-19 from spreading. For the sake of both private and public safety, I recommend you wear a mask, especially when travelling on the metro, and buses.