Passengers wear facemasks as they fly on an American Airlines flight to Dallas, Texas on July 2, ... [+]
The American Medical Association, American Hospital Association and American Nurses Association pleaded Monday with Americans to wear a mask and practice social distancing to stop the surge of cases of the coronavirus strain Covid-19.
The pleas by some of the nation’s largest and most influential healthcare lobbies comes as celebrities and athletes also urge Americans to wear masks and face coverings, particularly given the inconsistent messages coming from the Donald Trump White House. Trump last week said he was “all for masks,” but that was considered a change in tune and he hadn’t urged the wearing of masks prior to that statement and Vice President Mike Pence has, too, sent conflicting messages on mask-wearing.
The AMA, AHA and ANA said they have urged the American people to protect themselves from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic with “physical distancing and staying at home” and” infections and deaths began to decline.”
“But in the weeks since states began reopening, some of the steps that were critical to the progress we made were too quickly abandoned,” the AMA, ANA and AHA said in a joint letter. “And we are now watching in real-time as a dramatic uptick in COVID-19 cases is erasing our hard-won gains.”
More than 2.8 million people in the U.S. have been infected with Covid-19 and nearly 130,000 have died, according to the latest tally from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Cases in Texas, Florida and Arizona are hitting record numbers of infections after physicians, nurses and hospitals say those states re-opened their economies too early and in the case of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott fought efforts to mandate mask-wearing.
The AMA, ANA and AHA said the lack of mask-wearing and social distancing is causing “hospitals in some states” to be near “their ICU capacity” and it’s putting the health of patients as well as nurses and doctors at risk.
“Shortages of personal protective equipment and testing supplies continue to pose a dire threat to health care workers and patients alike,” the AMA, ANA and AHA said in their letter. “And last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress that the U.S could see 100,000 new coronavirus cases each day if we do not take more precautions.”
