Hawaii Lt. Governor: Everyone Should Wear a Mask When Leaving Home

A woman wears a mask as she walks along a closed Waikiki Beach pier in Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 28, 2020. Caleb Jones/AP Photo

Everyone should wear a mask when they’re leaving their home during the CCP virus pandemic, according to Hawaii’s Lieutenant Gov. Josh Green, a physician.

Experts across the United States are increasingly recommending the same while warning people to leave N95 masks for healthcare workers, a request Green also made.

Most other masks don’t provide the same level of protection but can still protect against the CCP (Communist Chinese Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. Any mask, Green told KHON-2, “is better than nothing.”

“We are all doing what we can by staying home but a lot of people are still having to to go out to run a few errands or go out and provide health care. When you do, wear a mask, cover up. And if you’re in the hospital of course wear an N95,” Green said.

People wearing masks should still follow social distancing measures, including staying at least 6 feet from other people. Mask wearers should take the time to learn how to properly wear them. Most surgical masks were designed for one-time use but masks made at home may be able to be washed and used again.

“I want to go on record, I’m recommending anyone who’s out there in line, any line whatsoever, please keep 6 feet social distance, that’s totally critical, and have a mask of some sort if you have it,” Green said.

Green’s recommendation was one of the first made by a state official as federal officials consider advising everyone to wear masks after recent data shows asymptomatic patients, or people with the CCP virus who aren’t showing symptoms, can easily pass on the virus.

A man wears goggles and a mask as he walks a dog along Waikiki Beach in Honolulu on March 28, 2020. Caleb Jones/AP Photo

Medical staff helps a patient upon entering a COVID-19 screening tent of the Brooklyn Hospital Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York on March 31, 2020. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

As many as one in four patients will never show symptoms, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Robert Redfield said this week.

Current guidelines only recommend masks for healthcare workers and for people who are sick who have to leave their homes.

Dr. Deborah Birx, response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that the matter was still under discussion.

President Donald Trump said that people can use scarves to cover their mouth.

“I think some people disagree with the mask, for various reasons, and some people don’t. But you can wear a scarf. You can do the masks if it makes you feel better. We have no objection to it, and some people recommend it,” the president said. The CDC has recommended health workers who can’t obtain masks wear scarves.

Officials have expressed concern about potential shortages of masks in hospitals, he noted.

“We don’t want everybody competing with the hospitals. So you can use scarves. You can use something else over your face. Doesn’t have to be a mask,” Trump added.