According to Capitol News Business Journal, effective Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, all bar and restaurant patrons will be required to wear face coverings when interacting with wait staff or other employees. Masks will also be required when food or beverages are being brought to the patron’s table, when placing orders and when picking up carry-out orders. “Illinois has had a mask mandate since May 1 this year, and in most establishments people are adhering to it,” Pritzker said during a COVID-19 briefing in Joliet. “But it’s important that we treat hospitality employees just as you would in any retail store or establishment. This new requirement asks a little bit more of our residents dining out in order to protect their health and safety and that of our front-line hospitality workers.”
But I got to thinking, you have to take your mask off to eat and drink. But what if the server asks, as servers do frequently, how is it tasting? Do I stop eating my meal, and put on my mask before washing my hands? Or if the bus person stops by my table and asks if he/she can clear my dishes. Do I stop everything, and put on my mask before washing my hands? And when should I put on my mask? What if the server stays six feet away? What if the server sneaks up on me? What if the owner wants to stop by our table and thank us for coming in? What “front line hospitality workers are included in the executive order? Where do I store my mask between courses or should I replace my used mask with a new one every time an employee stops by my table? What other States are making customers take their masks on and off so many times when they are dining at a restaurant?
All these interactions can, by my count, amount to at least eight times (ordering the food, having the food served in courses, cleaning the table, having the check placed on the table, paying the check, signing the credit card receipt) I have to take my mask off and then put it back on during an average dinner at my local restaurant.
All this mask on and mask offs can’t be good. Right? So I did a little research.
Let’s consult first the WHO (which has had its ups and down lately) guidance about Masks:
“Today, World Health Organization (WHO) officials reminded the public that masks still must be worn correctly, cared for and kept clean to ensure that they are effective. "People can infect themselves if they use contaminated hands to adjust a mask or repeatedly take it on or off," explained the Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.”
"I cannot say this clearly enough," said the Director-General. "Masks alone will not protect you from COVID-19." Source WHO June 5, 2020 briefing.
But wait there's more. Let’s see what other experts say about repeatedly taking a mask on and off.
"Once you wear a mask once, it's contaminated by whatever. If you take the mask off and sit it on another surface, that surface is now contaminated," says Geoffrey Mount Varner, MD, MPH, FACEP, a Maryland-based emergency medicine physician.
"It's best to use one-use masks and once they are taken off, dispose of them," says Mount Varner. "If you use a cloth or hand-made mask, it needs to be washed and sanitized between wears."
"If you contaminate your mask even from the outside, you can get easily infected," says physician Dimitar Marinov, MD, Ph.D.
"Taking off your face mask and then reapplying it with contaminated hands can move the bacteria or virus directly into the breathable area," says Jared Heathman, MD, a Texas-based psychiatrist.
“Make sure your hands are clean before adjusting the mask. It's best to avoid touching your face in general.”
"A mask should be changed or disinfected as often as every 2 hours, otherwise viral particles can accumulate on it and you are more likely to breathe them in," says Marinov. Source MSN lifestyle April 2, 2020.
And finally on April 7, 2020, Forbes Magazine wrote. What’s the most important thing to do when wearing masks?
“There are actually three things. First, wash or sanitize your hands, clean your face with a warm damp face cloth, and allow your face to dry before applying your mask. Second, avoid touching your face. Third, always wash or sanitize your hands before and after applying and removing your mask.”
Sound to me Governor Pritzker, your mandate is impossible to follow at the average restaurant, by the average diner, no matter how well intended, and really doesn’t protect the user or the front line server. Unless you plan on washing your hands before each server encounter. Or of course replacing your mask after each encounter. Sometimes things look better on paper than they do in practice.
