July 25, 2020 – by Nancy Nowell, Roger Osmun, and Diane Roston
Eagle Times
LEBANON – Wear a mask to help your those around you
As part of a collaborative effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 and keep New Hampshire healthy, we are joining in a grassroots movement to encourage the use of face masks in public and work settings. The initiative, #MaskUpNewHampshire, will strengthen the efforts led by the Common Man family and the Rotary Clubs of New Hampshire by raising awareness of the importance of wearing masks, and how doing so along with handwashing, physical distancing and staying home when you are sick, can reduce community transmission of COVID-19.
If we want to keep our state healthy and our economy open, we must mask up. There is still much we don’t know about COVID-19, but we do know that wearing a mask is a simple and effective way to keep the virus from shutting down our state. It is also a visible way to show concern for others.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services, and state and public health officials recommend cloth face-coverings. According to a recent study from global investment firm Goldman Sachs, mask-wearing by every American could save the U.S. economy from a 5% drop in GDP, or about $1 trillion in reduced economic spending.
As the community mental health and substance use disorder center for the Upper Valley and Sullivan County, West Central Behavioral Health clinicians are committed to wearing masks, and advocating that our clients wear masks when they are in public or at work. Let’s keep New Hampshire safe and open. Our economy, our communities, our families, and our own physical and mental health depend on it.
To those who are doing their part to turn the tide of this pandemic, we thank you. We must all remain vigilant and continue to take steps to mitigate the spread of the virus to protect one another. There is only one way we will get through this—together.