We know how to stop the coronavirus’ spread. But culture and politics are getting in the way in the heartland
As a Californian with family in the Midwest, my Instagram feed has become a slideshow of two jarringly different pandemic experiences. I see acquaintances in Kansas having large parties, no masks in sight, literally popping bottles of champagne indoors. An old friend having a big wedding in Wisconsin, and a gender reveal party in Illinois, too, were both mask-free affairs. This observation of the digital world transcends into the real one: a close friend who just returned from Iowa said it looked like the pandemic “never happened.”
The culture around the pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I live, is much different. In many ways, life still feels like it did in March, when the region first descended into a shelter-in-place status. I don’t know anyone here in California who’s hosted or attended a gathering with more than 10 people without observing the recommended mitigation strategies like wearing a mask, being outside and social distancing. Salons, gyms and hotels are just starting to open. Indeed, the difference between the Midwest and California is a bit confusing, particularly as cases rise in the Midwest.
According to the Covid Tracking Project, the Midwest is currently experiencing a coronavirus surge. And while there’s a mix of reasons behind this new surge— including the (possibly premature) reopening of some cities, universities and schools, and big gatherings like the the Sturgis motorcycle rally— there is a strong link between the low likelihood of public mask-wearing and the places where cases are rising, as The New York Times has reported. Indeed, the Midwest seems to struggle uniquely with mask-wearing, as the Times county-level data reveals.
Given what we know about the success of mitigation strategies like donning a mask, it may seem peculiar for states like Iowa to suddenly surge in cases. That suggests that the midwestern surge originates not because of lack of public health knowledge, but because of cultural reasons, or because of the politicized nature of masks, or both — something that is borne out by locals’ observations.
https://www.salon.com/2020/09/29/why-the-midwest-cant-defeat-the-coronavirus/