“I wear my mask for my staff, my teammates, my family, but mostly, for you.”

To encourage people in Washington to regularly wear masks, Overlake Medical Center has released a video with various leadership staff explaining why they wear masks.

Masks have started to play a major role in the state’s efforts to decrease COVID-19 cases and reopen the state. Governor Jay Inslee mandated everyone to wear masks in public places on June 26. On July 7, he ordered statewide businesses to only serve individuals that wear masks.

Various leaders in with Overlake hospital and clinics talked about vulnerable family members and evidence from the scientific community that masks help reduce spread of COVID-19.

A blog post accompanying the video emphasizes that cloth face masks reduces the spray of droplets of the virus in the air within six feet of others, but doesn’t take place of other preventative measures including physical distancing, proper handwashing and avoiding touching your face. Many people who test positive for COVID-10 have had minor to no symptoms which signals to the importance of wearing a mask regardless of your symptoms.

It is not necessary to wear a mask in the car or at home as long as you are with those in your household and have no symptoms.

Read Overlake Medical Center’s blog post on masking here.