Advice from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) went out to scream precautions and preventive measures to slow the spread of the Coronavirus and it’s many effects.

“Wash your hands! Stay six feet apart! Self isolate and quarantine!”

These Instructions were stressed because of their level of effectiveness based on medical facts and studies.

With the expectation that those guidelines weren’t possible for some to follow or were simply going to be ignored, the CDC advised something more.

One of the most debated health guidelines has been the CDC’s highly recommended advice to wear a mask.

Despite the science backing up claims to do so, it’s still a debated topic. 

With phrases such as “You Cannot Enter Without a Mask” or “Stay inside, but if you can’t or choose not to, at least social distance with a mask” being popularized, there is still an entire group of Americans who have chosen not to follow that recommendation. They have shown their outrage at mandatory mask-wearing in shops or public spaces with protests across the nation.

Although many have differentiating, passionate opinions, the facts are important to note with. 

On March 13, 2020, the state of California only had 49 reported COVID-19 cases.

On July 21, 2020, the state of California hit a record of reported cases in a day with 12,807 positive tests for COVID-19.

As of September 12, 2020 California had 4,625 reported cases.

Although the number of daily reported cases has gone down, California has surpassed any other state in the United States of America in cases. With a record breaking 770,000 (seven hundred-seventy-thousand) cases reported since March, the total number of cases continues to grow.

With those cases, California has reported 14,386 deaths due to health complications that were directly in consequence from or made more susceptible to by the virus. Some argue that the loss of lives due to the virus is in fault of the country’s negligence to strictly enforce the guidelines.

These numbers can also be broken down locally. According to the LA Times and their reported statistics of California cases broken down by county, Fresno County is number 16 out of 58 on the reported number of cases in California. The LA Times also estimates that for every 100,000 residents, there are 78.7 cases. With the population being recorded at nearly 1 million people as of 2019, it can be roughly estimated that Fresno county has so far 780 cases out of the 764,000 total in the state. 

Fresno County is also neighboring Kings County, the county with the most reported cases in the state. However, county lines aren’t walls. There is nothing stopping citizens from entering and leaving high risk zones. 

In the state with the most reported cases, in the country that exponentially gained more cases than any other in the world, it is vital that you and your loved ones wear a mask and follow the CDC’s health guidelines to protect yourself and others.

To recap the CDC’s protective guidelines:

• Social distance by staying six (6) feet apart in groups of 10 or fewer
• Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, frequently
• Clean and disinfect surfaces around you frequently
• Wear a mask.

The CDC says you should wear a mask because you don’t need symptoms of the virus to carry and spread it. Particles of respiratory droplets are what spread the virus, and by covering your mouth and nose you can decrease the likelihood of that happening.  

Wearing a mask can stop the toll of numbers from breaking records, says the CDC, and stop the count of deaths piling up in the state.

Wear a mask to protect yourself and those around you.