Jose Mier writing again from Sun Valley, CA.
Sun Valley is part of the City of Los Angeles and as such we’re under the auspices of the mayor, Eric Garcetti. The mayor recently said all Angelenos should be wearing masks now when going outside their homes as an aid to slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
The reasoning behind this, the mayor said, was that transmission of the virus can occur even when infected people are showing no symptoms. It’s unclear why the mayor made this statement now in the face of evidence that asymptomatic people can spread the virus which has been widely known for some time. Regardless, it seems that wearing masks is a good idea.
For many in Sun Valley, the use of masks has not been widely practiced. I myself have noticed at least half or more of Costco shoppers don’t take any precautions including wearing masks during their shopping visits. Anecdotally, I’ve seen a lot of gardeners still working as usual around Sun Valley—some in groups of four of more together—and none wearing masks.
Garcetti recommends using cloth masks to cover our faces along with social distancing as measures to help stop the virus from spreading faster. He also urged Angelenos not to use N95 or surgical masks at this time since they should be reserved for healthcare workers and emergency personnel.
Currently California has not been as hard hit as other areas like New York and any steps we can take in Sun Valley to do our part in lessening the impact should be done immediately.