‘Cognitive dissonance’ rampant in MT even as cases surge

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (1) – 11/30/20

Masks have been scientifically proven to slow the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne viruses, yet in states with some of the most staggering number of cases, the defiance to wear one is an ongoing issue. Although Gov. Steve Bullock issued a statewide mask mandate, he has left it to county officials and business owners to regulate. State legislators, who met earlier this month at the Capitol, unmasked, and many skirted the question when asked why. Physicians and other healthcare workers say that reframing mask use as an easy weapon against the virus should be a top priority for the incoming administration.

“The other way to look at this is that if you have a national mask mandate, it becomes more normalized,” Dr. Abraar Karan, with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, told Stat News. “It’s got to come from the federal government. It will be harder and harder for individual governments to go against a national mandate.”