In Czech Republic we were much lower down the food chain when it came to masks, so there was no hope of getting them early on in the pandemic. So something nove

In Czech Republic we were much lower down the food chain when it came to masks, so there was no hope of getting them early on in the pandemic. So something novel happened - people were encouraged[0] to sew their own and wear them at all times. Over the course of a week or so we went from a country where mask-wearing was basically unheard of to everyone having their face covered when out in public. During that period (until ~September or so?) we frequently had the lowest number of daily cases-per-capita in Europe. Later the requirement for masks was removed altogether and all restrictions were relaxed ... then cases exploded to the point where we had the highest number in the world. What I'm saying is - it looks like a bit of honesty and an encouragement for the general public to improvise face covering could have helped the USA and Canada despite the chronic lack of "real" PPE. The criminally negligent messaging around masks caused hesitation and doubt that was a gift to the covid deniers who to this day refer to that huge u-turn on masks. [0] - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/30/czechs-get-to-work-making-masks-after-government-decree-coronavirus https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/30/czechs-get-to-...