In the beginning of March, it was announced that Texas and Mississippi would lift the mask mandates that were required due to COVID-19. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott thinks Texas should completely open up, as seen by his decision to allow all restaurants, stores and arenas to open at 100% capacity. Both state governors are saying that because their states are doing better, it is time to get rid of the mandate. They acknowledge that COVID-19 has not just disappeared but see certain things getting slightly better in their state.

This is not a smart idea. 

It’s been a little over a year now since COVID-19 started last March, and things are not exactly better. The vaccine is starting to be administered to different groups of people, but there are still a huge number of cases around America. People who travel to or from Texas or Mississippi could possibly spread COVID-19 due to no longer having to wear a mask. It is almost like — in a way — they just want to pretend COVID-19 does not exist by not taking simple precautions to prevent the spread of the disease such as wearing a mask. 

I personally think as long as COVID-19 numbers are still high around America and everyone still is not vaccinated that mask mandates should be required in all 50 states. You could start a discussion over whether certain businesses should require it in Texas and Mississippi, but overall they should still be worn and required to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As of March 18, there were about 3,420  new cases in Texas and 322 in Mississippi, so even though their numbers are decreasing in those states, there are still a lot of cases. Eliminating the use of a mask would only make things worse. 

Even though people have recovered from the disease and now there is a vaccine, hundreds of thousands of American lives have been lost to COVID-19, so it is something that should be taken seriously and precautions such as wearing a mask is still something that should be done. It is a simple thing to do and helps to avoid the spread of COVID-19. 

We have seen how easy it is to spread and even though not everyone has extreme symptoms, it is still something we should want to prevent getting. I am someone who wears a mask everywhere I go, and I do not live in or visit Texas or Mississippi, but there are people out there who refuse to wear a mask. 

Wearing a mask is a step we all can take to avoid getting COVID-19. Since the removal of the mask mandate is new, we all have to see in the future if the number of cases continues to decrease or spikes due to people not wearing masks and what will be done if the numbers do increase.

Photo from Flickr