SPRINGFIELD, Mo. On Wednesday, nearly 800 people tuned in to a Facebook Live event to listen to Dr. Robin Trotman, medical director of infection prevention at CoxHealth, debunk myths and rumors surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

But its what Trotman had to say about masks the current hot-button topic thats morphed into a political issue nationwide that dominated the hourlong presentation.

We have empirical evidence that wearing something over your face prevents your respiratory droplets from landing on someone else, he said. This is no longer questionable. This is dogma in the science world.

Its these respiratory droplets spewed into the air by an infected persons cough, sneeze or loud talking by up to 6 to 8 feet away that serve as the primary way COVID-19 can spread from one person to another. These droplets can land inside the mouths or noses of people standing or sitting nearby.

The three most popular masks worn by the public since early March have been cloth masks, the white or blue paper masks, and bandanas. The latter is commonly seen as the least effective of the three. But even wearing a bandana when out among the public, Trotman said, may reduce the spread of droplets from 8 feet to, say, 4 feet, decreasing the sphere from which you are more contagious. Paper masks and cloth masks may reduce that sphere even further, down to a 1- or 2-foot spread.

Now that the virus is (everywhere), and its throughout the community, any barrier we can use is going to help, he said. While it may not be 100% effective in keeping you from becoming infected, it is very effective in keeping you from spreading the virus to others.

People reluctant to wear masks in public often bring up the fact that, in the early days of the pandemic, they were told not to wear them, which is correct. During the first days of March, Americans were told by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. surgeon general that they shouldnt wear masks to prevent the spread of the infectious illness, which was somewhat done out of fear that a run on masks by the public, similar to what was done with toilet paper, would prevent health care providers from having enough masks on hand to care for the sick.

But that was then, and this is now. The masks are safe and effective, Trotman said, and it is high time that people begin placing their trust in the science and the knowledge that health officials have gathered over the past four months while fighting the disease.

We now have evidence that wearing masks works to prevent the transmission of the disease, Trotman said.

Joplin and Carthage recently balked at proposals that would have implemented the wearing of masks when venturing outdoors, despite the fact that the Joplin area has recently been at the top of the nation in terms of increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases. Across the border in Kansas, a statewide executive order mandating the use of masks in public spaces, signed by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, went into effect on Friday.

We think of these (masks) in terms of civil liberties, Trotman said during the broadcast. We say, I dont feel comfortable with municipalities or with the government or public health (officials) telling me what to do. And I completely understand that. But then I go back to things like wearing a shirt and shoes at a restaurant. ... Theres precedent for (mask ordinances). There are things that we do, there are civil liberties that we give up, in order to be a good, global citizen.

It really takes an effort to be mindful of this mask, to wear it right, to not manipulate it, Trotman continued. But its not an overly exhaustive gesture. Lets say people argue that the masks dont work; they dont prevent infection 100% of the time. Lets say they work only 50% of the time. If I had 10 deaths in the hospital from COVID-19, and it reduces (transmission) by 50%, and we have five deaths, I think there would be a lot of people who would agree that (wearing masks) was worth doing.

Human behavior is the only tool we have right now, Trotman added. I want people to understand that: You have no other intervention or tool besides your own human behavior. Theres nothing else that we can do right now to prevent the ongoing transmission. Masking and social distancing are our only options.

Debunking myths

Here are some myths Dr. Robin Trotman debunked during his recent Facebook Live video, which can be viewed on the hospital systems Facebook page.

You cannot get carbon dioxide poisoning from wearing a mask.

"That is physiologically impossible, Trotman said.

COVID-19 is spread through droplets in the air, to be potentially breathed in by another, but it is not an airborne disease, meaning if one person is infected and coughs while flying inside an airplane, everyone sitting inside the cabin would not necessarily become infected.

Were not seeing people infected from across the room or in other rooms, Trotman said. We dont see that with COVID-19.

Yes, younger people are becoming infected with COVID-19 more often, primarily because they are visiting high-risk establishments such as bars and restaurants.

I get reports from all of our labs every day, and its incredible how the birth dates (of patients) have switched over the past few months. They are now mostly in the 2000s and the late 1990s, he said.

Try to keep hands off the face and especially far away from the outside of the mask that might be contaminated with COVID-19 droplets from an infected person.

When you look at studies on college students sitting in class, they touch their face (100 times) an hour ... so we need to keep our hands off our faces, Trotman said.

Life the way we know it, in terms of social norms, is probably over. Trotman called it a rearrangement of the norm.

The free movement without respect to distancing and personal hygiene those days are probably over, he said. Were going to have to conduct ourselves in a different way for the foreseeable future. He doesnt see Americans walking through an airport without a mask and ... not mindful of your surroundings. I think its going to take a rearrangement of some of our social norms. Its going to take people ... thinking about other people.

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