Many businesses, towns and cities alike are beginning to lift stay at home restrictions. Instead of simply reopening without any restrictions, many have placed a blanket restriction on buildings: face coverings required. While many people wear their face coverings correctly, I’ve seen so many people make the active choice not to. Every time I dare leave the safety of my dorm room, I count at least one person wearing their mask under their nose or hanging from their ear. I’ve even seen one person pull it up over their eyes to take a sip of their drink. Every time I point it out to someone, I get glared at, sighed at and one man even threatened to fight me.
I’ve come to the conclusion that people simply do not understand how masks work. That’s the only reason you wouldn’t be wearing your mask correctly, right? They don’t come with instructions, I understand. Why else would you choose not to wear your mask correctly when there’s a pandemic and you’d be putting not only yourself, but others at risk?
Don’t fear, I’m here to explain it to you. While it depends on the type of face covering you’re wearing, most cloth or surgical face masks come with three standard parts: the covering and two loops of string attached. To put on your mask, take the two loops of strings and slide them behind your ears. Make sure they are not at risk of slipping off or pulling too tightly on your ears. After they are on your ears, adjust the cloth part of the mask so it fits snugly over your nose and mouth. Make sure that the mask does not fall down under your nose or slide up above your mouth. If your mouth or nose is uncovered, you are wearing the mask wrong.
Let me make it clear: under no circumstances is it okay for you to wear your mask below your nose. Not only does it totally defeat the purpose of wearing a mask, but it makes your nose look huge. It doesn’t matter if you’re hot, it doesn’t matter if you’re only with your friends, it doesn’t matter if you don’t think it’s a big deal. It is a big deal. If you’re not going to wear your mask correctly, stay home. Some of us want to go grocery shopping or even just go to class without feeling anxious because we see people wearing their masks ineffectively.
If you’re wearing the mask in one of the following ways, you’re wearing it wrong: over your eyes, under your nose, above your mouth, under your chin or on your forehead (seriously?). I’ll repeat it again: the mask goes over your nose and mouth, and the strings should be tucked behind both ears. Please choose to wear your mask correctly and responsibly if you must go out.
