Expressing support for the designation of August 7 through 14, 2020, as World Mask Week, and encouraging all Americans to wear appropriate face coverings to protect themselves and to protect older Americans or others with health conditions that increase the risks of serious illness due to COVID-19.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. RES. 1084 Expressing support for the designation of August 7 through 14, 2020, as World Mask Week, and encouraging all Americans to wear appropriate face coverings to protect themselves and to protect older Americans or others with health conditions that increase the risks of serious illness due to COVID–19. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 14, 2020 Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SOTO, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. LEE of California, and Ms. SHERRILL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Expressing support for the designation of August 7 through 14, 2020, as World Mask Week, and encouraging all Americans to wear appropriate face coverings to protect themselves and to protect older Americans or others with health conditions that increase the risks of serious illness due to COVID–19. Whereas cloth face coverings, or nonmedical masks, serve as a barrier to SARS–CoV–2-carrying droplets, helping to prevent the spread of COVID–19 and save lives; Whereas a substantial portion of people infected with SARS– CoV–2 are asymptomatic or presymptomatic and can VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1084.IH HR1084 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 1084 IH transmit the virus to others when they do not know they are infected; Whereas research conducted long before the COVID–19 pan- demic has shown the utility of wearing masks in pro- viding protection against the transmission of respiratory infections; Whereas various types of cloth masks, including masks made of cotton, gauze, and other fabrics, reduced infection rates among health care workers and others during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 and the Manchurian plague of 1920 through 1921, and were used by health care workers and others to protect against tuberculosis in the 1930s and 1940s; Whereas a model projection of COVID–19 deaths by the In- stitute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the Univer- sity of Washington showed if 95 percent of people in the United States wore a mask in public spaces, nearly 34,000 fewer people would die from the disease; Whereas, on April 3, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended all individuals two years of age and older and medically able to wear a mask, wear nonmedical, cloth masks in public settings and when around people who don’t live in their household; Whereas a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention from May 11 through May 13, 2020, found that 76 percent of adults support mask-wearing outside of the home; Whereas a study published by the Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention on July 17, 2020, found no sec- ondary cases of COVID–19 in 139 mask-wearing clients VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1084.IH HR1084 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 1084 IH of two mask-wearing hair stylists with confirmed cases of COVID–19; Whereas to suppress COVID–19 transmission, the World Health Organization advises governments to encourage the general public to use nonmedical cloth masks as part of a comprehensive disease control strategy in areas of widespread transmission; Whereas countries in Southeast Asia with a strong mask- wearing culture like Japan and the Republic of South Korea have been far more successful in controlling COVID–19, experiencing few cases and lower mortality levels without instituting severe restrictions on their pop- ulations; Whereas raising awareness about the effectiveness of every- one wearing cloth masks when in public would encourage the adoption of mask-wearing, help to prevent the spread of COVID–19, and save lives both at home and abroad; Whereas one recent economic analysis estimated that uni- versal masking could save five percent of GDP, or one trillion dollars, by making lockdowns unnecessary and getting people back to work earlier; and Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pandemic Action Network are partnering with more than 40 organizations to host World Mask Week from August 7 through 14, 2020, in an effort to increase the use of face coverings across the globe: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports the designation of World Mask 2 Week; 3 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1084.IH HR1084 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 1084 IH (2) encourages Americans to wear appropriate 1 face coverings in situations where social distancing 2 is difficult or impossible, particularly in indoor envi- 3 ronments, both to protect themselves and to protect 4 older Americans or others with health conditions 5 that increase the risks of serious illness due to 6 COVID–19; 7 (3) recognizes that mask-wearing should be 8 coupled with other measures recommended by the 9 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 10 State and local public health agencies, including fre- 11 quent handwashing and physical distancing, to fur- 12 ther reduce the risk of COVID–19 transmission; and 13 (4) encourages following the consensus advice 14 of public health experts to wear face coverings to 15 meaningfully reduce transmission rates for COVID– 16 19, resulting in fewer deaths, fewer Americans made 17 seriously ill, and lower economic disruption. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR1084.IH HR1084 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS