As Trump tests positive: What to do when someone won't take Covid-19 seriously
President Donald Trump holds up his face mask during the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio. President Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for Covid-19. Picture: AP Photo/Julio Cortez
Social responsibility around Covid-19 measures is at the forefront of our minds this week, especially as US president, Donald Trump, has just confirmed that he and wife, Melania, have tested positive for the virus.
Since Covid-19 emerged earlier this year, Mr Trump, the White House and his campaign have played down the threat and refused to abide by basic public health guidelines — including those issued by his own administration — such as wearing masks in public and practicing social distancing.
The virus has killed more than 200,000 Americans and infected more than seven million in the US.
On this side of the Atlantic, a number of videos emerged online of hundreds of people gathering in the Spanish Arch area of Galway city this week.
People in the videos were seen gathering there and on Shop Street without wearing masks and often with little social distancing evident. Galway pub owner, Johnny Duggan, said pubs and restaurants are restricting numbers, but people can buy alcohol in off-licenses and consume it elsewhere. In instances such as this, he said responsibility for what happened on Monday night rests with the people who were out.
We are each responsible for our actions in the coming months in the struggle to repress Covid-19 in our communities and the majority of people have been abiding by the guidelines issued by the Government, which has seen limits on public and private gatherings, localised lockdowns in some areas, and restrictions on travel. However, a minority of people are acting with no regard for the safety and welfare of others and it’s possible someone you know isn’t taking Covid-19 seriously.
It’s a difficult conversation to have, but here’s how to approach the issue with a number of people and some health facts to back up your argument:
Face coverings help to reduce droplets that can spread Covid-19 from person to person. They are mandatory in indoor settings such as shops and supermarkets and on public transport — however, some people still refuse to wear them. Whether they claim it’s hard to breathe through, that the mask is useless against the spread of the virus or that they won’t be ‘forced’ to wear something against their will, it can be difficult to convince someone of the facts.
Dr Sarah Doyle, a specialist in public health medicine, says the point of masks is to protect others as well as yourself in public settings: “You’re going into a shop or on to public transport and you don’t know what somebody’s background is."
"You’re protecting yourself with the mask but you’re actually protecting others more so from the potential spread of the virus. You won’t necessarily know when you have an infection or if you’re infectious. You can be spreading infection before you even develop symptoms, we know that. You don’t necessarily know whether the people you’re coming into close contact with are vulnerable or not.”
Claire Hooker from the University of Sydney says someone can be persuaded to wear a mask, with the right approach.
“You won’t completely change someone’s beliefs or actions,” she writes.
“A better aim is to negotiate a change in behaviour that minimises harm. This might be: ‘Do as you choose at other times of course, but could we agree that just for now, you wear a mask when you visit Dad?’”
A non-judgemental approach is best. Hooker says you shouldn’t just tell someone to wear a mask as they will become defensive. Instead, lower their defenses by simply asking why they are not wearing a mask.
There are many reasons why people don’t wear masks and hearing someone explain their reasoning could provide an opportunity to problem-solve. It could be as simple as learning their glasses fog up when they wear masks, allowing you to show them how that can be prevented with soap, or that it hurts their ears, in which case you could treat them to a new mask that ties behind the head or some mask extenders to prevent any painful friction on their ears.
The Government has advised that no more than six people can gather together in a house or be seated together in a pub or restaurant. However, there are some people who are not adhering to the guidelines. You’ll have seen them sharing snaps from house parties or selfies with large groups of friends. This is of particular concern this week, with locals in Cork expressing their frustration at the behavior of returning students to third-level institutions in the city.
Dr Doyle says the danger in gatherings such as house parties is that while young people may not be severely impacted by the virus, it could be devastating for the elderly and vulnerable people in their lives.
“Part of the difficulty is that younger people, they’re not necessarily at high risk themselves but it’s really about thinking who are the people you might be coming into close contact with, and you mightn’t know who are vulnerable, and you mightn’t know who they are [if you’re socialising],” she says.
“The other side of that is that if there are a lot of people with Covid-19 in our hospitals; if it gets to that point where the ICU beds are full then; if you have someone who’s 40 who has a heart attack or has a car accident, that’s one of the risks. It’s about protecting people who are vulnerable to severe infection but it’s also protecting our healthcare system.”
Robin Stern, co-founder and associate director for the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, told Glamour you need to keep calm before confronting the person. Similar to confronting someone about wearing a mask, Stern says it’s important to share what you think and how you feel instead of preaching or lecturing but it’s important to know the limit of the conversation: “You don’t have to start a fight. Think of it as a conversation, not confrontation.”
Stern says it’s okay to establish boundaries, such as cancelling social plans with that person or only agreeing to meet them in outdoor areas where you can maintain a distance or planning a virtual get-together over video chat or phone call.
Chances are this person has cropped up on your Facebook feed sharing wild claims and sensationalist articles from disreputable sources.
The Open University’s Jovan Byford has written about how to engage with conspiracy theorists and he warns you should “arm yourself with patience, and be prepared to fail”. He says you should first find out what the person believes and how strongly they believe it.
Byford says you shouldn’t call their intelligence or morals into question. Instead, arm yourself with “as much disconfirming evidence as you can from credible sources, including multiple independent fact-checking websites. Background research will help you to focus the discussion on the substance of the claims.”
He says you must challenge their evidence and its origins before encouraging the person to direct their curiosity and skepticism to more worthwhile concerns. Byford warns it won’t be an easy task and may take some time to change their views:
Dr Doyle says Covid-19 impacts everyone and it’s important to be more aware of our own individual actions in combating its spread in our communities. She highlights the importance of protecting the vulnerable people in our society by following the current health guidelines.
“We’re concerned because cases are rising but we’re really particularly worried about people who are in at-risk groups, so the elderly but also people with underlying illnesses and the impact it might have on them and we don’t necessarily know who they are and where they are,” she says.
“It’s about people asking how is the virus spread, what are the things that reduce the spread and then looking at my house or my household or my circumstances or what I’m doing and asking what are the things that I can do every day to reduce transmission. It’s following all of the measures but [thinking] how do I do it? What is the way in which I can apply that and why would I do those things?
“Everybody knows somebody who’s vulnerable to severe infection and one of the things is they may not know that a person is vulnerable, like somebody who has high blood pressure or somebody who has diabetes. People living normal lives might have an underlying illness that would mean that if they get Covid-19 that they would be at risk of severe infection.”
This could be the toughest one to tackle. This friend or family member enjoys showing their affection and it can be hard to ask them to take a step back. Dr Doyle says that unless you have symptoms of Covid-19 you don’t need to avoid meeting that person, you just need to learn new ways to interact.
“Absolutely under no circumstances if you’re unwell should you visit, and when you are visiting there are alternative [greetings], whether it’s an elbow bump, or shoulder-to-shoulder with your heads turned the other way - it’s a very brief interaction,” she says.
“I’m conscious of the need for social company.” Rather than push them away, ask them for new, fun ways to show each other you care. Whether it’s an elbow bump, touching shoulders or showing off your jazz hands, it’s important they know they don’t need to hide their feelings, they just need a new way to show them.
Dr Doyle says the most important thing to do when visiting other homes is to continue to wash your hands often, and adds it could be a nice touch to ask children to make reminder signs for older relatives to hang around their homes.
“Little signs around the house for the older person to be conscious of it, 'wash your hands' and if you’re visiting to 'keep your distance', keep the length of the two-metre table or the other side of the room or whatever,” she says.
“Hand hygiene is just absolutely critical. It’s about washing your hands and washing them at the right time or sanitising them but it’s also about how often you do that and having an awareness of that. That is in combination with all the other things. You need to be cleaning your hands before you put on your mask, you need to be cleaning your hands after you take off the mask. "
Cleaning your hands breaks that chain of transmission. That’s absolutely critical.
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