April 1, 2020: 

On April Fools Day, NPR would usually run some humorous and false news items, just for fun. Not today. Google took a year off from its annual April 1 pranks “out of respect for all those fighting the COVID-19 pandemic." And in some countries April Fools jokes about the coronavirus are illegal. 

Instead, here in California, we hear the local NPR affiliate interrupt its broadcast for a press conference about COVID-19 infections in California. I tune into a local TV station and sit down on the sofa to watch.

During the press conference, staying home, physical distancing and hand washing are the main interventions advocated. The benefit of wearing face coverings is not as clear. Governor Newsome repeats what I’ve heard before (see March 23 entry): that the public should not use masks that are in short supply for health care workers, who need them most. Masks can be an additional protection but are not substitutes for physical distancing.

Dr. Sonia Angell, Director of the California Department of Public Health, reiterates the importance of physical distancing and expands on the guidelines for facial coverings. Although her priority is to protect healthcare workers, who are the first line of defense against the virus, she says wearing face coverings can protect others from an infected person who is not yet symptomatic. Masks might decrease the infectious particles that go into the air. 

Angell also discusses the downfalls of masks. One danger is that people who wear a mask might feel a false sense of security and get too close to others. Another is that people might touch an infected portion of their mask, then touch their faces, thus infecting themselves. So, the masks may have some benefit, but “only when they are used well.”

Having watched the evolution of advice given in Washington state, and now in California, I see that each state is developing its own public health guidelines and preparing its own resources to combat the threat of the virus. In the absence of a coordinated national set of guidelines, the job falls to each state to do so.




I live in Seattle and have time to think. Muse, even. Retired from research consulting and report writing, I now write about family history and life around me.

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