Coronavirus In Colorado: CBS4 Sees Mixed Reaction On Call To Wear Masks In Public
DENVER (CBS4) - Yvonne Zack of Johnstown is proud of her mask -- it's an American flag. She wears it proudly with her "Rosie the Riveter" shirt. Rosie was an icon of World War II representing the women who worked in factories and other jobs to help the war effort.
This time around the war is against what has been described as "an invisible enemy." The call has gone out for those around Colorado to put on masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But since the request is not mandatory, while many people wear them, others don't.
A man CBS4's Rick Sallinger spoke with in a Home Depot parking lot had only one mask for his family so his female toddler was wearing it.
"Safer to have something than nothing. We just ran out of masks ourselves so we are trying to look for bandanas. She's number one for us," he said.
No reason to be shy about wearing a mask, Gov. Jared Polis wore one last Friday in a news conference and urged everyone to do the same.
Some were certainly listening, like Andy Welch.
"Taking every precaution I can. The governor and Anthony Fauci says to wear it, that's good enough for me," he said while walking in Cheeseman Park.
But President Donald Trump announced he won't be wearing one while urging others to put them on. The mixed signals result in mixed results.
"You're not wearing one?" Sallinger asked another man in the park.
"That's true I'm not. I am working on keeping my social distance to 6 feet at best, only leave the house once a day when necessary go to the grocery store and get some exercise," he said.
Most anything will do. One man had on a blindfold that was given out on some airline flights.
But at crowded Civic Center Park, there were very few masks to be found. Mainly on the rangers.
CBS4 found people wearing a mask while going to the bank. That could send the wrong message.
An informal survey found less than one in every five people wearing masks outside in Denver during a day-long observation.
CBS4 asked people on Facebook if they think enough people are wearing masks or scarves when out in public. Below are some of the responses:
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