As a Florida resident, being in an area with an excessive amount of coronavirus cases means that residents of those areas must take precautions in order to slow the spread of a deadly, harmful virus that’s taking our world by storm. The CDC recommends all people to only do two things: wear a mask and social distance; however, some people fail to do even that.

Many people who refuse this new essential clothing item cite having asthma or difficulty to breathe in a mask, especially because of the constriction around the nose and mouth.

Others claim that it’s an infringement of their rights; however, it is well within the rights of others to leave the house for groceries and not come back with a highly contagious virus.

Speaking from personal experience, I’ve worn my mask for hours on end with little to no issues. As a person with claustrophobia, I expected the mask to give me difficulty breathing; that’s not to say that difficulty breathing hasn’t come, but I refuse to remove the mask, especially in areas of high traffic where I can infect or kill someone should I have the virus.

Wearing a mask isn’t for your own safety; it’s for the safety of others. Infecting someone at high risk because of the disregard for human lives can well be avoided so long as masks are worn. It’s as simple as this: masks save lives.

Many people claim to want to be heroes, but when presented with the opportunity to save lives by wearing a mask, suddenly all desires for heroism are thrown out of the window. If they can’t wear a mask, they should stay home. People’s lives are more important.