疫情下美国个别州民众仍对⼝罩存在歧视⼼理
尽管新冠疫情肆虐，但在“⼤天空”国家，对⼝罩的蔑视依然强烈
凯瑟琳·麦克劳林2020年11⽉27⽇
当新冠病毒在去年冬天席卷中国和意⼤利北部时，⾝为癌症幸存者的Chany Reon⼗分担⼼。她想知道，它什么时候能到达美国那个遥远的⾓落。
现在它已经成功了，其威⼒相当于飓风。莱翁住在蒙⼤拿西北部的平头县，这⾥是冰川国家公园的所在地，也是该州受灾最严重的地区之⼀。蒙⼤拿州在早期做得很好，通过封锁和旅⾏限制来防⽌病毒传播，但在6⽉份放松了预防措施，现在它是全国Covid-19发病率最⾼的地区之⼀。
gary事件是什么现年42岁的雷翁是⼀名⾮营利机构顾问，他⼀直在家⾥⼯作，避开公共场所和⼈。今年秋天早些时候，当她被要求在当地社区⼤学教授⼀门课程时，她同意了，因为她认为学⽣们会遵守蒙⼤拿州的命令，要求在室内戴⼝罩。然⽽，在第⼀节课开始⼏分钟后，她的学⽣摘下了⼝罩。⼀周后，她被诊断为Covid-19。她的病情被认为是轻微的，但这仍然意味着数周的呼吸困难和恶⼼。
“这是认知失调，因为⼈们不相信病毒存在，”Reon在⼀次采访中说，她的声⾳仍然因为疾病的影响⽽紧张。“我在采取预防措施的时候感到很沮丧，但是在⼯作环境中这些预防措施却被忽视了。”
当选总统拜登准备就职的⼀场毁灭性的⼤流⾏，已经杀害了250000多名美国⼈，他已经开始敦促⼴泛使⽤⾯具，和许多公共卫⽣专家希望他的第⼀个⾏动是声明⼀个国家⾯具授权。蒙⼤拿州可能会提供⼀些线索，说明这可能会起作⽤，也可能不会起作⽤。
拜登在公开场合戴着⾯具，他⼀再强调⾯具必须与政治⽆关，⾃11⽉3⽇⼤选以来，他⼀直坚持这⼀信条。本⽉，他称⼝罩是爱国之举，并表⽰戴⼝罩是每个⼈的责任。
“你的政党，你的观点并不重要。如果在接下来的⼏个⽉⾥每个⼈都能戴上⼝罩，我们就能拯救成千上万的⽣命。”
事实证明，⼝罩在减缓病毒传播⽅⾯在世界各地都是有效的，但特朗普总统和⼀长串共和党领导⼈，从国会议员到州长和州议员，都拒绝戴⼝罩。
其结果是，⼈们普遍对⼝罩的价值感到困惑和怀疑，并将⼀种抗击病毒的基本⼯具政治化。尽管多项调查显⽰，戴⼝罩的⼈全年都在增加，8⽉份有85%的⼈说他们戴过⼝罩，但仍然存在党派分歧。⽪尤研究中⼼(Pew Research Center) 8⽉份的⼀项研究发现，在公共场合戴⼝罩的问题上，民主党和共和党的差距为16个百分点。
在横跨⼤平原和北落基⼭脉的共和党控制的州，这种分歧很明显，其中许多州采取⾯具命令的时间较晚，或者根本不存在⾯具命令。南达科他现在是世界上每天Covid死亡率最⾼的地⽅，但仍然没有⾯具规定，许多地⽅政府也不愿介⼊。从达科他州到爱达荷州、犹他州和爱荷华州，不断上升的病例和对⼝罩的抵制已经导致激烈的对抗和政治⽃争。在许多地⽅，⾯对公众的强烈反对，当地卫⽣部门对强制执⾏⼝罩规定犹豫不决。
在蒙⼤拿，民主党州长史蒂夫布洛克(Steve Bullock)⼏个⽉前在除少数⼏个科维德案件很少的⼩县外的所有县实施了戴⾯具的强制令。然⽽，执法⼯作主要由企业负责，从酒吧到海伦娜的州议会，都出现了抵制。在⾄少两起案件中，愤怒的反蒙⾯者⽤威胁酒吧和餐馆员⼯。因此，⼈们是否戴⼝罩很⼤程度上取决于他们的政治⽴场和当地卫⽣委员会的⼒量。
在弗拉锡德县，当地卫⽣委员会的⼀名成员早就引起了⼈们对这种病毒致命性的怀疑，现在已经培养了⼀⼤批经常违反标准公共卫⽣指导的追随者。健康委员会拒绝限制集会的规模，尽管国家授权限制⼈25当社会距离是不可能的，有超过5500病毒检测呈阳性，县约占10%的蒙⼤拿的所有诊断Covid病例。
对⾯具的蔑视并不局限于⼤天空国家的东北⾓。⼀个名为“⾃由保护项⽬”的组织在该州进⾏巡回活动，反对戴⾯具的规定，并筹集资⾦在法庭上抗辩。在⼀封电⼦邮件中，该组织⽤类似于疫苗怀疑论者谈话要点的语⾔阐述了⾃⼰的使命。
定，并筹集资⾦在法庭上抗辩。在⼀封电⼦邮件中，该组织⽤类似于疫苗怀疑论者谈话要点的语⾔阐述了⾃⼰的使命。该组织的声明称:“媒体严重歪曲了我们组织的特征。”“我们不是反⼝罩组织。我们是⼀个⽀持公民⾃由的组织。我们还没有举⾏过任何反⾯具活动。”
最近，当州议员开会选举明年1⽉开始的⽴法会议的领导⼈时，数⼗名众议院和参议院的共和党议员在国会⼤厦会⾯，并没有戴上⾯具。多位共和党议员没有回应就此问题置评的请求。
公司起名大全同样，当选州长、共和党⼈格雷格·吉安福特(Greg Gianforte)在竞选期间经常被拍到不戴⾯具。11⽉3⽇，共和党在⼀场历史上⼀边倒的选举中横扫该州。尽管拒绝透露⾝份，但在蒙⼤拿州议会及其周边⼯作的⼏名⼈⼠表⽰，他们担⼼国会可能爆发疫情。
县卫⽣委员会给州共和党领导层发了⼀封信，要求成员们限制他们的旅⾏并选择虚拟会议，但是没有公众的回应。
公共卫⽣专家说，戴⼝罩并不是⼀件注定失败的事情，⼀个全国性的⼝罩授权可以减轻地⽅和州官员的负担，从⽽扭转局⾯。
布⾥格姆妇⼥医院(Brigham and Women’s Hospital)和哈佛医学院(Harvard Medical School)的亚伯拉罕·卡兰(Abraar Karan)博⼠表⽰，后特朗普时代的国家政治领导层需要将⼝罩重新定位为⼀种易于使
⽤的、⼏乎没有任何负⾯影响的武器，以抗击疫情。对于那些没有戴⼝罩命令的州，以及那些在执⾏上遇到⿇烦的州，有⼀个全国性的规定来做理论上的坏⼈，将减轻地⽅卫⽣官员的压⼒。
“从另⼀个⾓度来看，如果你有⼀个全国性的⼝罩授权，它就会变得更加正常化，”卡兰说。“它必须来⾃联邦政府。各国政府将越来越难以违背国家授权。”
前巴尔的摩卫⽣专员、乔治·华盛顿⼤学⽶尔肯学院公共卫⽣访问教授Leana Wen博⼠说，实施全国⼝罩规定将是⼀项艰巨的任务，但也是⼀项⾮常必要的措施。她对斯塔特说，让当地的⾳乐家、作家、体育明星和其他⼈参与到这项事业中来，会带来很⼤的不同。
pgone被封杀对于像Chany Reon这样的⼈来说，全国性的⼝罩强制令可能来得太晚了，但她仍然相信这是必要的，⼈们是可以改变的。
⾃从她⽣病后，她说，“我有⼀些朋友，他们的观点稍微改变了⼀点。”
关于作者
凯瑟琳·麦克劳克林
@kemc
附上原⽂，以供参考，拒绝转载，侵权必删：
Mask defiance remains strong in Big Sky Country, even as the pandemic rages
By KATHLEEN MCLAUGHLINNOVEMBER 27, 2020
Acancer survivor vulnerable to serious illness, Chany Reon worried as the coronavirus swept through China and then northern Italy last winter. When, she wondered, would it reach her remote corner of the United States.
Now it has, with the force of a hurricane. Reon lives in Flathead County in northwestern Montana, home to Glacier National Park and one of the worst-hit parts of the state. Montana did well early on, preventing spread of the virus with lockdowns and travel restrictions, but precautions were loosened in June and it now has one of the worst Covid-19 rates in the country.花庚
Reon, a 42-year-old nonprofit consultant, has been working from home and avoiding public spaces and crowds. When she was asked earlier this fall to teach a course at the local community college, she agreed, thinking that students would be following Montana’s statewide order mandating face masks be worn indoors. Minutes after the first class started, however, her students removed their masks. A week later, she was diagnosed with Covid-19. She had what’s
started, however, her students removed their masks. A week later, she was diagnosed with Covid-19. She had what’s considered a mild case, but that still meant weeks of breathing difficulty and nausea.
“It’s cognitive dissonance, for people don’t believe the virus exists,” Reon said in an interview, her voice still strained from the effects of the illness. “It was frustrating to me when I am taking the precautions, and then to have a work setting where those precautions were disregarded.”
As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office in the midst of a devastating pandemic that has already killed more than 250,000 Americans, he’s already begun urging broader use of masks, and many public health experts hope one of his first actions is to declare a national mask mandate. Montana could offer clues about how that might work —or not work.
Biden, who wears a face mask in public, has spoken repeatedly about the need to make masks non-political, a mantra he has continued since the Nov. 3 election. This month, he called masks patriotic and said wearing them is everyone’s responsibility.
“It doesn’t matter your party, your point of view. We can save tens of thousands of lives if everyone would just wear a mask for the next few months,” Biden said at an event in Delaware.
Masks have proven effective around the world to slow the spread of the virus, but President Trump and a litany of Republican leaders down the line, from members of Congress to governors and state legislators, have refused to wear them.
The result has been widespread confusion and skepticism about the value of masks and the politicization of a basic tool against the virus. While multiple surveys show mask adherence increased throughout the year, to 85 percent of people reporting they had worn masks in August, there is still a partisan divide. A Pew Research Center study in August found a 16-point gap between Democrats and Republicans on wearing masks in public settings.
The divide is evident in Republican-controlled states across a wide swath of the Great Plains and the northern Rockies, many of which were late to adopt mask mandates, or where they don’t exist at all. South Dakota, which now has the highest daily Covid death rate in the world, still has no mask rule and many local governments have refrained from stepping in. From the Dakotas to Idaho, Utah and Iowa, rising cases and resistance against masks has led to heated confrontations and political fights. In many places, local health departments have hesitated to impose and enforce mask mandates in the face of heated public opposition.
In Montana, the Democratic governor, Steve Bullock, imposed a mask mandate months ago in all but a few tiny counties with very few Covid cases. However, enforcement has been largely left to businesses, and from bars to the state capitol in Helena, resistance has cropped up. In at least two cases, angry anti-maskers have threatened bar and restaurant employees with guns. As a result, whether people wear masks largely depends on their politics and the strength of the local health board.
In Flathead County, a member of the local health board who early on stirred skepticism about the deadliness of the virus, has cultivated a large following that routinely defies standard public health guidance. The health board has refused to limit the size of gatherings — despite a state mandate limiting crowds to 25 when social distancing isn’t possible — and with more than 5,500 testing positive for the virus to date, the county accounts for roughly 10 percent of all of Montana’s diagnosed Covid cases.
Mask defiance is not contained to the northeastern corner of Big Sky Country. A group called the Freedom Protection Project has toured the state campaigning against the mask mandate and raising money to fight it in court. In an email, the group framed its mission in language similar to vaccine skeptics’ talking points. “The media has grossly mischaracterized our group,” its statement said. “We
are not an anti-mask group. We are a pro civil liberties organization. We have not had any anti-mask events.”
When state legislators met recently to elect the leadership for the legislative session that begins in January, dozens of Republican House and Senate members met in the Capitol, unmasked. Multiple Republican legislators did not respond to requests for comment on the issue.
Similarly, Gov.-elect Greg Gianforte, a Republican, was frequently photographed during the campaign not wearing a mask. Republicans swept the state on Nov. 3 in a historically lopsided election. Though they declined to be identified, several people who work in and around the Montana Legislature said they are concerned about a potential outbreak in
5寸照片是多大尺寸several people who work in and around the Montana Legislature said they are concerned about a potential outbreak in the Capitol.
The county health board sent a letter to the state GOP leadership asking members to limit their travel and opt for a virtual session, but there’s been no public response.
Public-health experts say mask wearing is not a lost cause and a national mask mandate could turn things around by lifting the burden off of local and state officials.
Dr. Abraar Karan, with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said national political leadership in the post-Trump era needs to reframe masks as an easy-to-use weapon against the pandemic, with very little downside. For the remaining states without mask mandates, and those having trouble with enforcement, having a national rule to be the theoretical bad guy will ease the pressure on local health officials.
“The other way to look at this is that if you have a national mask mandate, it becomes more normalized,” said Karan.“It’s got to come from the federal government. It will be harder and harder for individual governments to go against a national mandate.”
Dr Leana Wen, a former Baltimore health commissioner and a visiting professor at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, said a national mask mandate would be a herculean task to implement, but is also a gravely necessary measure. Getting local musicians, writers, sports figures and others to take up the cause could make a major difference, she told STAT.
For people like Chany Reon, a national mask mandate might be arriving too late, but she still believes it’s necessary and people can change.
Since she got sick, she said, “l have friends, who have changed their views slightly.”
About the Author
Kathleen McLaughlin
@kemc
怎么管教叛逆期的孩子Author：Kathleen McLaughlin
以上就是新冠疫情下民众戴⼝罩对新冠病毒的作⽤介绍了，希望全球⼈民能够集体为减缓病毒传播奉献⼒量。
发布评论