DENVER (KDVR) — Coloradans have been working to cover their faces in public for more than a week.
Gov. Jared Polis announced the state was advising everyone to do so at the beginning of the month in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. However, there is still confusion over when it’s necessary to wear a mask and when it’s not.
“There’s a sort of mental agility that has to come with some of these changing guidelines and changing recommendations,” said Dr. Andrew French, Chief Medical Officer at St. Anthony North.
French is one of Centura Health’s incident commanders for COVID-19 response and agrees the debate over when and where to wear a mask can be confusing.
“The easiest rule of thumb when to wear a mask or cloth facial covering is really when it’s difficult to social distance. And what we mean by social distance is what is defined by the CDC, when it’s difficult to maintain a distance of six feet or more between you and other individuals,” said French.
The Colorado Department of Health and Environment responded to a series of questions regarding when a person should or should not be expected to wear a face covering.
Do I need to wear a mask while hanging out in my yard?
“Colorado is asking everyone to wear a non-medical, cloth face covering while out in public. “In public” does include your neighborhood, whenever you are outside of your house and yard. We’re not asking people to war masks in their own yards.”
Do I need to wear a mask in a public park or on a trail if nobody else is around me?
“Yes, we are asking people to wear masks when they are out in public, including in parks and on trails. Even if nobody is around you most of the time, if you are in a public place, you probably will encounter other people.”
If I go for a run, should I wear a mask?
“Yes, we are asking people to wear masks when they go out to exercise.”
Should I wear a mask if I’m driving?
“We don’t have any specific guidance on this, but people should consider our guidance for taking off masks. Be careful to not touch your eyes, nose or mouth when removing your face covering, and wash your hands right after you remove it. This won’t be practical for someone who is wearing a mask in public and wants to take it off while driving.”
Can I reuse the same mask or face covering?
“Yes, absolutely. People should wash their masks regularly with their regular laundry. We’re recommending reusable, cloth face coverings so that medical masks will be reserved for health care providers and first responders who are exposed to heavy amounts of the virus when caring for sick people. Cloth face coverings can help the rest of us help them by potentially limiting the spread of the virus.”
Dr. French says people should follow the state health department’s guidelines, but says there are scenarios where not wearing a mask would pose a greater risk than others.
“The most common scenarios that are often put forth are when you’re at a grocery store or when you’re at a pharmacy, when you know you’re going to be in a relatively confined space and have difficulty maintaining that safe distance between you and other people,” said French.
French points out the reason for wearing a mask or face covering is to protect the people around you.
“It’s really to help prevent spread if you happen to be what we call pre-symptomatic. Maybe you’re going to come down with COVID but you haven’t had symptoms yet, or are one of the few individuals who we’ve started to see in the medical community who we call asymptomatic spreaders or carriers of the virus,” said French.
He says social distancing requirements should be followed even if you are wearing a proper face covering.
“By incorporating all of those things into our life at this time from the general public is really what’s helping us maintain control of this virus in the Colorado community.”
