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Hey Twitter, I'm working on some more reporting about 2020's most talked about piece of fashion: face masks.
I'm looking at how and why face masks have become such a point of contention. Why is it so controversial among some people (mostly Americans, it seems) to wear a cloth face covering in public to limit the spread of a strange and deadly new disease?
Part of the reason might be because the current mask guidance, while based on growing evidence of masks' usefulness in slowing the spread of COVID-19, is really different from the guidance we were receiving only a few months ago.
Here's a piece I wrote in February, when public health officials (including at the CDC and WHO) did not recommend the use of face masks by people who seem healthy. Obviously a lot has changed since then. https://www.wiscontext.org/novel-coronavirus-face-masks-and-when-use-them
Emerging scientific evidence about how the virus that causes COVID transmits between people led the CDC to revise its mask guidance in April. I looked at the evidence behind the new stance and talked to Wisconsinites who were 'masking up' for this update: https://www.wiscontext.org/covid-19-face-masks-and-why-more-wisconsinites-are-wearing-them
As COVID-19 cases surge again in the U.S. and Wisconsin this summer, we've entered a new phase of mask guidance as a growing number of states and localities pass mandates for their use in public places. At the same time, there's a mounting backlash to masks in some quarters.
A number of Wisconsin communities, including its 3 largest cities, have enacted local mask mandates. The details vary, but the mandates generally require people to wear masks in public places where it's difficult to maintain physical distance.
But a statewide order has so far failed to materialize as @GovEvers, a Democrat, says he's wary of a potential legal battle with Republicans in the Legislature who have warned against one, reports @SJohnsonWPR https://www.wpr.org/other-states-mandate-masks-wisconsins-path-remains-unclear
In an interview yesterday, Wisconsin's top epidemiologist for communicable diseases, @RyanWestergaard, told me he supports local mask mandates and would support a statewide mask mandate as well.
Dr. Westergaard acknowledged that public health officials and elected leaders need to be better communicators about the risks associated with COVID-19 and how to confront them via strategies like face masks. Better communication could engender more trust in the guidance, he said.
Do you have thoughts about how public health officials might better communicate about COVID-19 and face masks? Have you seen face mask campaigns that you think are really effective, or really bad? I want to hear from you! Respond here, DM me or email [email protected]
Updating this to note that @GovEvers has now issued a statewide mask mandate set to take effect Aug. 1 
https://twitter.com/lkwhite/status/1288896018097016833
