6 April
Now that protective face masks are becoming widely accepted as effective in slowing transmission of the virus, I wonder whether this will be a new feature of 21st-century life: will we all go masked each year during flu season? Will different varieties of masks become symbols of status and wealth or political affiliation; will they carry advertising, personal manifestos, messages subtle and overt? So far I’ve seen no signs of commercialization, branding, or messaging, but suddenly instructions for making masks at home are everywhere online. My WhatsApp group devoted an hour to the topic on Saturday, prompted by a public notice about how to request home delivery of free masks from the Protezione Civile. This morning my news feed carries two articles about masks and masking, with links to instructions and templates.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html
https://research.impact.iu.edu/coronavirus/origami-face-mask-pattern.html
Our nearest neighbor, who lives with his partner and their 18-month-old daughter in the house where he spent childhood summers with his grandfather, came this morning to plow our vegetable garden. With great skill he maneuvered his small tractor, avoiding my precious rhubarb plants and leaving behind a deeply tilled patch of earth. He’ll return after three days, once the soil is dried and aerated, to re-till with a finer blade. He won’t accept payment, never does, even though he’s done everything over the years from stacking firewood to shoveling snow to re-starting our furnace after a power outage during a blizzard.
** After reading this article in The Atlantic I may take the time to wipe my groceries:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/coronavirus-pandemic-airborne-go-outside-masks/609235/