Masks are used to protect other people from our germs. I wonder how many people who don’t wear masks understand this. We don’t wear masks to protect us (unless it’s a N95 respirator mask) but to protect others.

The guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on masks shifted last spring when scientists found out that many people who were positive for COVID-19 had no symptoms. When it became clear that people who had no symptoms might be spreading the virus, the CDC changed its guidance and recommended that anyone who couldn’t distance should wear a mask. To protect others.

I guess I have a positive enough view of my fellow humans that I believe if more people knew that masking up protected others (especially people at risk), they would gladly endure the minor inconvenience of masking up when in public.

So please, everyone get that message out: as Mainers we care enough about one another to do this all the time. Because as Dr. Shah here in Maine has repeatedly said, that is the only way to keep our infection rates low enough to have a more normal life.

David Doreau

Waterville