by Cynthia Quinones
In addition to statistics, the CDC website gives important information and advice to the public. Among the recommendations are frequent hand-washing, social distancing of at least 6 feet due to the fact that it is a highly contagious disease that spreads easily from person to person through contact and moisture droplets dispersed into the air while speaking, sneezing, or coughing. Despite the current data there are some who don't seem to take infection seriously.
Although the WHO website states that the use of a mask is only necessary for those in the health care industry and healthy individuals caring for a person diagnosed with Covid-19, the CDC recommends using a mask when in a situation where community-based transmission is possible (CDC). This is in addition to social distancing. Many locations, including retail stores, will refuse entry to those not wearing a mask because it has been found that infected individuals may be asymptomatic. Therefore, you may be a carrier without knowing it, and the mask will help to slow the contagion.
I conducted a survey of my neighborhood and sampled 110 people over a 3-day period to find out if most of them were following the recommendation to wear a mask. I did this research from my front porch using a tally sheet and also took note of their activity at the time. I asked two individuals how they felt about people not following the mask recommendation and noted their responses along with their photographs.
"I feel unsafe. My little stats show that I'm sure there's wealthy, smart people here but 'no captan.'* I know we're trying to be nice to each other but, dude, I can't be nice to you right now so keep pushing."
- Ariana P.
"Makes me feel cautious if they are not practicing social distancing near me. I already found it disgusting when people sneeze or, especially, spit on the ground. I've seen it twice in public during the crisis. Hopefully all people learn how to be more socially clean or practice social cleanliness even after this disaster is over. They should wear their mask as a courtesy to those around them."
-Val M.
I entered my raw data onto a spreadsheet with four criteria: Male/Female, no mask = 0 and mask = 1, Adult/Child, and the activity they were involved in (W = walking, D = walking dog, RB = riding bike, and J = jogging).
| M/F | 0/1 | A/C | W/D/RB/J |
| M | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | D |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 1.0 | A | RB |
| M | 0.0 | A | D |
| F | 0.0 | A | D |
| M | 0.0 | C | RB |
| M | 0.0 | C | RB |
| F | 0.0 | A | J |
| M | 1.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | D |
| M | 0.0 | A | D |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | D |
| M | 0.0 | A | D |
| M | 0.0 | A | J |
| M | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 1.0 | A | W |
| F | 1.0 | A | W |
| F | 1.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | C | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | C | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | J |
| M | 1.0 | A | W |
| F | 1.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 1.0 | A | W |
| F | 1.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 1.0 | A | W |
| F | 1.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | B |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 1.0 | A | D |
| F | 1.0 | A | D |
| M | 1.0 | A | D |
| M | 0.0 | A | D |
| M | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | C | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | D |
| F | 0.0 | A | D |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 1.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | D |
| F | 0.0 | A | D |
| M | 0.0 | A | D |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 1.0 | A | D |
| F | 1.0 | A | D |
| M | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | D |
| M | 1.0 | A | W |
| F | 1.0 | A | W |
| M | 1.0 | C | W |
| F | 1.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | D |
| M | 1.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | J |
| M | 1.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| F | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 0.0 | A | W |
| M | 0 | A | J |
| F | 0 | A | W |
| M | 0 | A | W |
| F | 0 | A | W |
| M | 0 | A | RB |
| F | 0 | A | D |
| F | 0 | A | W |
| F | 0 | A | W |
| M | 0 | A | J |
| M | 0 | A | W |
| F | 0 | A | W |
| M | 0 | C | W |
| M | 1 | A | W |
| F | 1 | A | W |
| M | 0 | A | D |
| F | 0 | A | RB |
| F | 0 | C | RB |
| F | 1 | A | W |
| F | 0 | A | D |
| M | 0 | A | W |
| F | 0 | A | W |
| F | 0 | A | W |
| F | 0 | A | W |
| M | 0 | A | W |
| F | 0 | A | W |
| M | 0 | C | W |
| F | 0 | C | W |
| M | 0 | A | W |
I counted 57 females and 53 males. Surprisingly, there was an equal distrubution of those not wearing masks from each group. There was a total of 100 adults and 10 children. 15 females and 11 males were wearing a mask and only 2 out of the 10 children I counted was wearing a mask.
| Row Labels | Count of Activity |
| W = walking | 74 |
| D = walking dog | 23 |
| RB = riding bike | 7 |
| J = jogging | 6 |
| Grand Total | 110 |
The majority of the activity was walking and, although some were carrying bags, I couldn't specifically say they were coming from the store or market.
Never before has our society faced a crisis in this manner and of this magnititude. People are learning new ways to live in society with Covid-19 and other viral diseases to reduce negative outcome. My data shows how people are responding to reality and, sociologically, how they choose to engage with the safety of all individuals surrounding them by wearing a mask or not. This data, as well as any other information collected, is useful for determing which individuals in society need to be proviided with more information so they will realize the magnitude of our current crisis.
*'No captan' is a Spanish term that roughly translated to "they don't get it."
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