Seven reasons to wear a mask this July 4 weekend (opinion)
CNNEditor’s Note: Jennifer Lee is a clinical associate professor of emergency medicine at The George Washington University. Jennifer Lee Ariel Skelley Here are seven reasons why you don’t want to leave home without a mask: Masks protect you and your family and friends. In one review article published in the Lancet last month, researchers analyzed 172 studies from 16 countries to better understand the effects of physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection. One study compared death rates across 198 countries and found that those countries with cultural norms or government policies supporting mask-wearing in public had lower per-capita mortality rates than countries that didn’t. This July 4, if you’re feeling patriotic or nostalgic for the way things were, wearing a face mask is one easy way you can help the nation fight this virus.