A lot of this election has been focused on the pandemic but the virus itself doesn’t identify with a political party. In fact, the virus can cause severe complications in any age group, although the most harm is often to the elderly and chronically ill.
KPRC 2 wanted to debunk one myth that’s been thrown around: Masks will go away after the election.
That’s false.
In July, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order requiring all Texans to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth in public spaces and the order has not expired yet.
So, in any county with 20 or more positive COVID-19 cases, people must wear masks with few exceptions.
Although many elements of the pandemic have been politicized, of all the doctors and hospital CEOs interviewed by KPRC 2 Health Reporter Haley Hernandez, none of them anticipate mask orders going away after the election.
In fact, they say to get used to wearing them, probably for the next six months.
“It’s not going to go away and God willing we’ll get a vaccine soon. We are going to exist like this until we get enough of the world’s population vaccinated that this is under control,” said Dr. Katherine Timmins, with St. Luke’s Health. “We can get used to it.”
It will take 60-70% of people getting a vaccine, once one is ready before medical professionals will recommend going back to life as it was before the pandemic.