Today on my way home from work at Johns Hopkins Hospital, I had to change seats no fewer than four times in an effort to avoid riders who were not wearing face coverings. A surprising number had masks but were sporting them around their necks — for what purpose I have no idea — and many had their noses hanging out as if half-a-loaf was good enough (”Mask mandates in Maryland: Where you need to wear one and what you need to know after Gov. Hogan’s order,” July 30).
I am a 64-year-old nurse and have been riding the subway for 27 years and have never been afraid until now. If I get COVID-19, it will not be from working at Hopkins, where every imaginable safety precaution is taken. No, it will be because I am exposed every day to thoughtless, selfish people who don’t give a fig for the welfare of others. If I die from this dread disease, I promise to haunt the isles of the subway wreaking havoc on the guilty. Have a think; you can’t imagine the various ways the ghost of an angry dead nurse could annoy you.
I know I am probably “preaching to the choir” by publishing my plea in The Baltimore Sun, but maybe someone reading this could share it with their friends or family members and convince just one of them to be a good citizen and follow the golden rule of this pandemic: Wear a mask. My mask protects you and your mask protects me.
Kathleen Costigan, Baltimore
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