Some masks are optional

Let a smile be your umbrella and you'll get soaking wet...

Over the last few days, several things happened:

• According to Johns Hopkins University, the total number of COVID-19 deaths worldwide is now over 500,000.

• More than 125,000 of those people were Americans.

• The United States had a record number of new coronavirus infections over the weekend.

• Only four states are seeing a decrease in coronavirus cases.

• 31 states are seeing an increase.

• 14 states are reversing or pausing their plans to reopen.

• Former CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden told Fox News that the increase in cases across the southern region of the United State was due to the country reopening too fast.

• The governor of Kansas issued an order that people wear face masks in public.

• After Kansas City saw a record number of increases in coronavirus cases, the mayor of Kansas City – Quintin Lucas – did the same thing.

After issuing his order, Lucas – who is Black – got a text message calling him the n-word and saying he “should swing from a tree.” The incident makes at least two things clear: there are some racist dumbasses out there and the mayor needs to be more careful about giving out his cell phone number.

Here’s what New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo – one of the few politicians that seems to have done the right thing – had to say about the situation:

“It is time to wake up America. The White House has been in denial on coronavirus from the get-go and the federal response has just been wrong.”

Cuomo went on to make a point about reopening and the economy:

“When that virus spikes, the market goes down, not up. This was not a smart policy to rush reopening. It did not help the economy. It’s the exact opposite.”

According to the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, if 95% of Americans wore face masks in public it could prevent 33,000 deaths by October 1st. You can quibble with the exact numbers, but everybody who has any expertise in the subject is now saying wear a face mask in public.

Here’s what Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the IHME had to say about it:

“People need to know that wearing masks can reduce the transmission of the virus by as much as 50% and those who refuse are putting their lives, their families and their communities at risk.”

Nevertheless,Donald Trump still sees face masks as optional and refuses to wear one, probably because he’s afraid of being photographed while wearing one and wearing one would be admitting he was wrong – something he seems incapable of doing.

After months of “sheltering in place” and staying home to “flatten the curve” the numbers are headed in the wrong direction because some people – including our president – refuse to recognize the problem and do the right thing.

Good luck, everybody…we’re going to need it.

http://kingfeatures.com/comics/editorial-cartoons-a-z/