AFS Cinema
Masking the Truth
RECEIVED Wed., July 1, 2020
Dear Editor,
In response to the 7/1/20 article titled "Police Association Accuses Protesters of Giving Cops COVID-19" [News]:
Like many Austinites, I too was both saddened and enraged at the images of Austin Police officers tear gassing and firing upon people exercising their First Amendment rights to protest. I also think that union head Ken Cassidy's accusation that police contracted COVID-19 from protesters is speculative, petty, and demonstrates what many have claimed before me: that the police exist to protect and serve themselves rather than the public.
That being said, the Chronicle article is also petty, and counterproductive in a time when misinformation runs as rampant as the coronavirus. The article strongly and sarcastically implies that the officers caught the virus because they were unmasked during the protests.
The CDC has been clear that wearing a mask is important to prevent an already-infected person from spreading the virus to an uninfected person through the airborne particles emitted from the mouth and nose. They have also been clear that cloth and surgical masks are NOT effective at filtering those particles out if you're around someone else (who isn't wearing a mask). So, the implication by the Chronicle article that if the police officers had worn masks, then they wouldn't have caught the virus, is faulty and misleading. And worse, the article is being gleefully shared on social media, spreading the misinformation as well as the criticism of the APD.
Do APD officers have access to N95 masks? Those are the only ones considered to be mostly effective at filtering out airborne viral particles. Perhaps that's a question that the journalist should have asked before publishing.
In response to the 7/1/20 article titled "Police Association Accuses Protesters of Giving Cops COVID-19" [News]:
Like many Austinites, I too was both saddened and enraged at the images of Austin Police officers tear gassing and firing upon people exercising their First Amendment rights to protest. I also think that union head Ken Cassidy's accusation that police contracted COVID-19 from protesters is speculative, petty, and demonstrates what many have claimed before me: that the police exist to protect and serve themselves rather than the public.
That being said, the Chronicle article is also petty, and counterproductive in a time when misinformation runs as rampant as the coronavirus. The article strongly and sarcastically implies that the officers caught the virus because they were unmasked during the protests.
The CDC has been clear that wearing a mask is important to prevent an already-infected person from spreading the virus to an uninfected person through the airborne particles emitted from the mouth and nose. They have also been clear that cloth and surgical masks are NOT effective at filtering those particles out if you're around someone else (who isn't wearing a mask). So, the implication by the Chronicle article that if the police officers had worn masks, then they wouldn't have caught the virus, is faulty and misleading. And worse, the article is being gleefully shared on social media, spreading the misinformation as well as the criticism of the APD.
Do APD officers have access to N95 masks? Those are the only ones considered to be mostly effective at filtering out airborne viral particles. Perhaps that's a question that the journalist should have asked before publishing.
Jennifer Thall