Black encourages residents to don masks as COVID-19 cases increase

Masks work. And acting otherwise puts the community at risk.

That was the message Dr. Brad Black reiterated at the July 8 meeting of the Lincoln County Board of Health. The county’s public health officer, Black warned that large-scale disregard for the face coverings could lead to potentially dire consequences for the community.

“People still have this false concept [about masks] and they’re hearing things like ‘masks don’t help,’” Black told the health board. “Yes they do. It’s been well shown.”

Debate over the value of wearing a mask is widespread, Black said. In Lincoln County, officials must encourage residents to take precautions as COVID-19 cases rise in the state and elsewhere in the country, he said.

It is one of several measures, including regularly washing hands, which residents need to make a habit out of in advance of an outbreak, Black said.

Masks have transformed since the COVID-19 pandemic began from a public health measure to a political lightning rod nationally. In states and localities where officials mandated the wearing of masks in public, protests have sprung up.

Videos capturing consumers flouting mask-wearing rules mandated by businesses and elected officials have gone viral online. More than a few of the films show shoppers berating employees about mask wearing measures, defacing property and protesting.

In response, the Retail Industry Leaders Association sent a letter to the National Governors Association asking them to require masks nationwide.

“Retailers are alarmed with the instances of hostility and violence front-line employees are experiencing by a vocal minority of customers who are under the misguided impression that wearing a mask is a violation of their civil liberties,” wrote Brian Dodge, association president.

Locally, the debate over masks has played out along similar lines on social media, with a few residents encouraging their use and others criticizing or mocking the measure. Many more suggest the threat of the coronavirus is minimal, a stance that Black said he understood, but did not agree with.

“We know there are many people where it’s not reality for them yet,” Black said. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid sometimes it takes some real negative things to really motivate people.”

Black made the case for mask wearing as county health department officials announced an investigation into a possible cluster of COVID-19 cases in the Libby area. After going months without an active case, authorities confirmed multiple cases since late June.

Black predicted the return of COVID-19 to Lincoln County, likely via transmission from an out of region traveler as tourists flock to enjoy northwest Montana’s recreational advantages, weeks ago. At the time, he said that if the residents picked up the behaviors impressed upon them in the early days of the pandemic — social distancing, hand washing and limited public gatherings, among others — it would give health workers a boon in preventing the coronavirus’ spread.

Transmission of the virus outdoors seems low, Black said at last week’s meeting. That changes as soon as a resident or visitor walks into a crowded store, restaurant or coffee shop.

“If you’re going to go into a place where it’s close approximation with people … then transmission risk goes way up,” he said. “Somehow, we have got to get that concept into people’s heads so they take proper precautions.”

Black also said he hopes residents understand that COVID-19 is much more serious than influenza.

“I’m hopeful that people understand this is not like anything we’ve seen with influenza,” he said. “It overloads every healthcare system where it gets going.”

Places where people have downplayed the risk of the coronavirus are now suffering the consequences, Black said. While most people recover from the virus, Black said his concern was for the at-risk population if the coronavirus became prevalent in the community.

No doctor wants to be in a position where they are so overwhelmed with cases that they have to triage patients, Black said.

“We see a lot of people say, ‘It’s no problem,’” he said. “Obviously, they become very sorry later on. … We just hope that doesn’t happen in Libby.”