Northern California supervisor compares masks to wearing AIDS ribbon in COVID-19 fight

A member of Placer County’s Board of Supervisors broke with messaging from California and local health officials in a recent social media post that criticized the use of face masks as a legitimate form of protection against COVID-19.

Kirk Uhler, who represents Granite Bay and portions of Roseville, compared coronavirus face masks to AIDS awareness ribbons popularized at the height of the epidemic as a symbol of support for survivors.

In a video uploaded to his Facebook page on Wednesday, Uhler suggested that most masks are merely a social tool, used to signal the virtue of the wearer to onlookers.

“You see, the face mask is today’s sign that you care,” Uhler says in the video, before pausing to rip off the bandanna he had wrapped around his own head for demonstration. “Sorry, I can’t have that stupid thing on. More importantly, if you don’t have one on it means you don’t care.”

The mask phenomenon, he said, could be chalked up mostly to politics — and, unless using an N95, little protection could be offered.

“If you’re concerned about your health, you need to be wearing something like this,” he said while holding a box of 3M-branded N95 masks. “If you’re walking around wearing something like this”— now Uhler held up the bandanna he had previously discarded — “you might as well be walking around wearing one of these,” he concluded, with a red AIDS awareness ribbon in hand.

Although Uhler seemed to receive mostly positive responses from Placer County residents in his comments section, his video posed a stark contrast with recommendations made by the county’s public health department.

The department specifically recommends that cloth coverings, including the bandannas Uhler mocked in his video, be used when out in public.

“Cloth face coverings — such as a bandanna, scarf or homemade cloth cover — are recommended when leaving the house for essential activities to further slow the spread of COVID-19,” the department wrote in its official COVID-19 FAQ. “Face coverings can help prevent transmission of COVID-19 by catching respiratory droplets that can be expelled not just in coughs or sneezes but also through activities like talking or singing.”

Placer County health officials, however, did suggest that N95 masks be used for those who must maintain close contact with others, such as health care workers or people who care for someone else in a home setting.

But Uhler’s essential argument is not without merit. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges that cloth masks are not as effective as N95 masks, yet remain useful in curbing the spread of coronavirus by limiting the wearer’s ability to transmit the virus to others.

“CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission,” the CDC says. “Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.”

The CDC also says that the N95 masks — which Uhler told those concerned about the pandemic to wear — should be reserved for health care workers and first responders instead of being depleted by the general public.

Uhler’s video emerged as counties across California have been reporting significant spikes in coronavirus cases.

In recent days, Placer County has seen record-high infection rates. Despite remaining mostly flat for much of April and May, this month has produced an uptick in infections surpassing even the infection rates at the onset of the pandemic. June 4 saw 19 new cases, the highest daily increase so far. On Friday, 17 more cases were added.

Although the mortality rate in Placer County has been relatively low, with just nine deaths reported in total, the number of infections has quickly risen to 344. As of Friday, seven people were hospitalized with COVID-19 and one person was in an intensive care unit.

Uhler has a history of speaking out about pandemic and its effects on life in the mostly conservative, suburban Sacramento area he represents. He threatened legal action against California Gov. Gavin Newsom last month over economic restrictions imposed on Placer County.

This story was originally published June 13, 2020 at 10:56 AM.