"I should have worn a mask."

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Chris Christie writes in the Wall Street Journal today that upon self reflection in the Morristown Hospital ICU, he should have worn a mask.  Lets see if he sticks to that statement going forward.

WSJ 10/21/2020

I Should Have Worn a Mask

Quote

 

It’s not a partisan or cultural symbol, not a sign of weakness or virtue.

For seven months I was very careful about mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing. As someone with asthma, I knew I faced heightened risk. Then, at the Rose Garden nomination event for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and during debate preparations with President Trump, I let my guard down and left my mask off.  I mistook the bubble of security around the president for a viral safe zone. I was wrong. There is no safe zone from this virus....

...When you get this disease, it hits you how easy it is to prevent. We are asked to wear cloth over our mouth and nose, wash our hands and avoid crowds. These minor inconveniences can save your life, your neighbors and the economy. Seldom has so little been asked for so much benefit. Yet the message will be broadly heeded only if it is consistently and honestly delivered by the media, religious leaders, sports figures and public servants. Those in positions of authority have a duty to get the message out....

 

 

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

I hate to be the cynic but I think his statement that he was very careful up til that day...is unlikely to true. He wants to be in that inner circle and I'm sure he would have been ridiculed if he wore a mask. I would take him more at his word if he said "I  blew it. I should have been wearing a mask all along..." but that's just me.

[MarkMyWords]

He states the obvious. Nothing new. Doesn't mention if he was social distancing. Everyone thinks others will get the disease, not themselves. A very common attitude, sadly. I found out the hard way three times.

[turtlesRcool]

I actually really like what he said.  Should he have known better? Of course. Did he know better and ignore it for personal gain? Also yes.

But the leadership in this health crisis has been shamefully poor.  The extent to which basic precautions have been politicized has been recklessly irresponsible. 

I have to wonder if we'd still be having such a difficult time getting people to wear masks and social distance if Trump had come out of his COVID experience similarly humbled and issued this kind of statement.  Trump got the best medical care in the world, treatments not available to the general public, and his message was, "Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life."

No joke, just two hours ago, this is what Trump tweeted: "Covid, Covid, Covid is the unified chant of the Fake News Lamestream Media. They will talk about nothing else until November 4th., when the Election will be (hopefully!) over. Then the talk will be how low the death rate is, plenty of hospital rooms, & many tests of young people."

So, I'm going to have to give Christie credit for acknowledging the severity of the disease, the ease of spread, the importance of prevention, and his own culpability in catching it.  I think there are a lot of us who are struggling to find a balance between resorting normalcy to our lives and preventing transmission.  It is so easy for compliance fatigue to set in, for us to let down our guard, and for COVID to take advantage. Whether or not Christie was really consistently masking all along is almost irrelevant.  Lots of us have been, and it's a good reminder not to get sloppy.  Lots of others haven't been, and now is a good time to start.