Murray, NEB- People have various opinions on whether masks help stop the spread of Covid-19 or if they are just uncomfortable and unnecessary. Masks are currently mandated in around nine states. These states consist of Washington, Hawaii, New Mexico, Nevada, California, Delaware, New York, Oregon and Illinois. People are required to wear a face covering in public spaces, whether they have or have not been vaccinated for Covid-19.

Since the pandemic began, there have been eight new Covid-19 variants to come about and there are definitely more to come. Every 14 out of 15 states which do not require masks in public areas have reportedly had a higher number of cases. Mask mandated states with at least 75 percent mask adherence had no reports of large outbreaks. In fact, the states which require masks have case reports little to none in some regions of the state. The CDC recommends that masks are worn to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 among peers. The increase of cases began again 12 weeks after mask mandates were lifted, while with mask mandates, the amount of cases reduced by over 50 percent.

Should masks be mandated again? When looking at statistics from the CDC, cases are much more likely to come to a stop if masks are worn. Although, masks will never be worn by everyone as the world has seen during the past mask mandates. The rise of Covid-19 cases is likely due to the lack of people who take precautions to protect themselves and others. Masks have been proven to decrease the severity of the Coronavirus outbreaks along with the vaccine that helps boost a person’s immunity to the virus.