Laramie, like the rest of the world, has had to adapt to wearing face masks in public areas to reduce the spread of COVID-19; in general, it seems that Laramites have chosen to disregard these safety measures despite the constant increase in cases in Wyoming.
The Vice President of the local Pinebeach Inc. and The Knothole stores, Stephanie Carter said that they haven’t experienced a difference in people wearing masks.
“We’ve seen the same number of masks since the beginning,” Carter said. “We have been selling a consistent amount of masks.”
The Knothole has been selling fabric masks since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and have been selling them locally and worldwide. Many of the masks found instore are branded with UW colors and symbols.
Between locals buying them from their store and recieving special orders from around the world, Carter explained that they have “sold 10,000 masks.”
Chain corporations like Safeway, Ridley’s and Walmart have signs at their entrances requesting masks be worn but there is no enforcement for it. The lack of enforcement in key here.
After calling all three locations, none were willing to discuss if there has been an increase or decrease in customers wearing masks while shopping.
Some Laramie residents don’t wear masks for comfort reasons but are required to for work.
“I can’t wear most masks because they fog my glasses,” Laramie resident, Ben Daniels said while walking his dog at LeBonte Park. “If I could find a mask like the N95 mask I would probably wear one more often.”
He clarified that he wears a simple fabric mask while working. Daniels is a delivery driver for Mr. Jim’s Pizza, who provided all their workers with masks to ensure safety of customers and workers while participating in contactless deliveries.
Different mask materials protect the wearer in certain ways. Fabric masks are encouraged by both the FDA and CDC. The cloth material focuses heavily on reducing the spread from asymptomatic carriers.
Surgical masks are also recommended by the FDA for their protection from sneezing, coughing and other forms of transmissions, similarly to the fabric mask.
One of the most popular masks is the N95 which gives the most protection, but the FDA and CDC request that the public not buy them. Instead the agencies prefer the N95 masks be given to healthcare workers.
Two weeks after Memorial Day weekend, there has been an increase in positive cases, according to the Wyoming Department of Health website. The total of positive COVID-19 cases in the state is 866.
Albany County has had 26 confirmed cases of the virus with 21 recoveries and two probable cases. As of Wednesday, there have been no deaths from COVID-19 in the county.
