Have you read your state's face mask mandate?

I ran off a copy of Virginia's face mask mandate early on in the pandemic. Many Virginians have medical conditions that make mask-wearing medically contraindicated. For myself, I have an autoimmune disease that affects my lungs. The only time I've worn a mask is taking my husband to the hospital for surgery last Wednesday, because they wouldn't let me in without one. Wearing it for several hours gave me a headache. It ain't rocket science to recognize that mask-wearing for any extended period of time is unhealthy. (My sister works at Home Depot and comes home every day with a headache and elevated temperature!) 

When we got up on the floor after surgery I was shocked to have one of the aides tell us that we had to wear masks the entire time we were in the hospital. 

Really? In a private room? 

One of the things they had Larry do was use the little device to practice deep breathing moving the ball up as high as possible. They do that because of the risk of post op pneumonia. And you're telling him to wear a mask all the time? 

Needless to say we ignored that bit of insanity! No one else said a word to us about it, but in any case we would not have complied. Just get us out of the hospital quicker!

Recently at IHOP my friends and I spoke to a young man who has a serious acne problem. He described how the mask was making his condition worse. No surprise. Acne is related to bacteria in the gut. When you are breathing into a mask, you continually exhale the bacteria and then re-inhale it. How could it not make things worse? Since many conditions are related to gut health, mask wearing is likely to exacerbate all of them.

Back to the mandate....

Here are the exceptions in the Virginia mask mandate:

D. Exceptions The requirement to wear a face covering does not apply to following: 

1. While eating or drinking; [Try doing that with a mask on!}

2. Individuals exercising or using exercise equipment; [Did you read about the Chinese jogger who blew out a lung because he ran with a mask on?]

3. Any person who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the face covering without assistance; [Nice to know an unconscious person isn't expected to mask!]

4. Any person seeking to communicate with the hearing impaired and for which the mouth needs to be visible; [I've lost a few tones and have difficulty understanding those in masks which doesn't matter much except when getting instructions from the medical staff at the hospital.]

5. When temporary removal of the face covering is necessary to secure government or medical services; and 

6. Persons with health conditions that prohibit wearing a face covering. Nothing in this Order shall require the use of a face covering by any person for whom doing so would be contrary to his or her health or safety because of a medical condition.  [Many people fit into this category: those with asthma or COPD, people like me with a condition that impacts the ability of the lungs to operate normally, people with diabetes since high blood sugar can increase lung complications, the obese who may experience shortness of breath, people with chronic heart disease, etc.]

Any person who declines to wear a face covering because of a medical condition shall not be required to produce or carry medical documentation verifying the stated condition nor shall the person be required to identify the precise underlying medical condition.

If you think masking is right for you, by all means mask. If you are social distancing, e.g., in church, you really don't need to mask as well, but if it makes you feel safer it's up to you. Do whatever you think is best, particularly if you're vulnerable. Stay home and away from crowds. Ask someone to deliver your groceries or order on line. But please don't badger me if I make a different decision from yours. By the way, have you read your state's mandate?