ChristianaCare Joins National ‘Every Mask Up’ Campaign

Wear. Care. Share with #MaskUp. ChristianaCare and approximately 100 of the nation’s largest and best-known hospital groups have joined together in the national campaign Every Mask Up, urging Americans to wear masks to protect everyone from COVID-19.

The campaign, which began this week, aims to counter public resistance to mask-wearing.

These health organizations, representing thousands of hospitals in communities across the U.S., have come together with an urgent plea for all Americans: mask up, because wearing a facemask is our best chance at slowing the surging COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 11.5 million Americans have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus – including an additional one million in just the past week – leading to nearly 250,000 deaths.

The next several months will be critical. Though there has been positive news about vaccine development, the vaccines are not yet ready for widespread use. Meanwhile, we all must remain vigilant, take precautions and follow public health orders.

In addition to ChristianaCare, the participating groups represent a broad array of well-known organizations and companies including major academic medical centers like the Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Mass General Brigham, NewYork-Presbyterian and U.C.L.A. Health; large for-profit chains like HCA Healthcare; and religious hospital groups like Adventist Health and CommonSpirit Health.

The campaign features public service advertisements that read:

“As the top nationally-ranked hospitals, we know it’s tough that we all need to do our part and keep wearing masks. But, here’s what we also know: The science has not changed. Masks slow the spread of COVID-19. So, please join us as we all embrace this simple ask: Wear. Care. Share with #MaskUp. Together, wearing is caring. And together, we are saving lives.”

The advertisements appear in prominent newspapers, including The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, and a social media push features a powerful video that expresses the frustration felt by some of the nation’s health care workers over the refusal of so many Americans to wear masks.

Mask-wearing by 95 percent of the population could potentially prevent upwards of 130,000 deaths, according to a model by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, Washington.

If the nation stays on its current course, U.S. hospital leaders are increasingly concerned that more health care facilities will be overwhelmed as shortages of healthy caregivers make it difficult to handle a rapidly increasing number of patients. This is already happening in parts of our country.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) points to recent studies that have shown facemasks successfully limit spread of the COVID-19 virus. Wearing facemasks protect in key ways: by protecting the wearer against inhalation of harmful pathogens and particulates and by preventing exposure of those around the wearer.

In addition to masking, the CDC suggests that everyone minimize the number of non-household contacts, maintain a physical distance of at least six feet, and limit the amount of time around others, especially while indoors and in poorly ventilated areas.

For more information about masking guidelines, including how to choose a mask and how to properly wear a mask, visit the CDC website.

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