Page 6 - Mecklenburg_Medicine_September-2020

Feature

On June 26, the letter below was made available to all emergency medicine physicians and advanced practice providers practicing in Charlotte.
There were 215 voluntary respondents. We hope this information will help inform our communities, healthcare professionals and policy-makers. Be safe.

n Michael A. Gibbs, MD, Emergency Medicine Physician | Charlotte, North Carolina n

Covering Our Faces
…to Protect Our Community

It has been a tremendous privilege to serve our community on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic. The opportunity to care for
all patients regardless of age, race, gender, social situation and health condition is our calling, a charge our entire team considers our pinnacle
responsibility. The COVID-19 outbreak has served only to strengthen our resolve.

When the pandemic first hit our state and our city, local and state leaders enacted critical measures quickly to keep our communities safe. For
this we are very grateful.

As many states across the country start to re-open, we now find ourselves in a very different place than we were just a few short months ago.
Social distancing has been relaxed as of late, and the lack of mandatory face-mask laws leads to variation in both usage and understanding of
protective masks, ultimately leading to a lack of compliance.

At this critical juncture, we call upon local, state and national leaders across the country to institute mandatory mask-wearing legislation
immediately. The science behind this is crystal clear. Earlier this month, Dr.
Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease expert in our country, described
the unequivocal benefits of wearing a mask to the Energy and Commerce
Committee of Congress, and his message applies to us all:

“We can say very clearly that wearing a mask is definitely helpful in
preventing acquisition, as well as transmission. The data for your wearing
a mask and if you are inadvertently not knowing you’re infected,
protecting you from infecting someone else is stronger data than the
data that says you will be protected. However, everyone agrees in the
public health sector that wearing of masks is beneficial.”

The outcomes around this crucial decision are immediately apparent:
• If we choose to wear masks, transmission will be reduced, and

the pandemic gradually will attenuate. New cases of coronavirus
infection will be reduced.
• If we choose to not wear masks, the pandemic will persist and
infectivity will soar. Many more will become infected and many
more will die.
We are profoundly grateful to Gov. Roy Cooper, who
announced such an executive order that began on Friday,
June 26 at 5 p.m. His order mandates that everyone in
North Carolina over the age of 11 is required to wear
a mask in all public space. It is our hope that other
leaders across the country will follow our governor’s
courageous lead.
We as physicians and APP’s swore an oath to “Do
No Harm.” When we see our fellow human beings
suffering and dying, it is incumbent on us to take action
and speak out. Please join us in supporting bold action.

This letter is supported by the emergency
medicine physicians and advanced care providers
on the facing page.

This message is written by the emergency medicine community practicing in Charlotte. The comments within represent their opinions as
physicians, advanced practice providers and Charlotte citizens, and not necessarily the position(s) of their employers.

6 | September 2020 • Mecklenburg Medicine