OMAHA - Nebraska is poised to further ease restrictions and open up daily life. What’s one of the main ways that important effort could be undermined? If a large number of Nebraskans fail to wear masks when they are in close proximity to others.

Public health officials have been clear from the start about the protective value of masks. Water droplets are one of the main ways the coronavirus spreads. Masks help stop the droplet dispersal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week issued a new set of health guidance about the importance of mask wearing.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican, has rightly termed that a “senseless dividing line.” As he said in a press conference last month, if someone is wearing a mask, they “might be doing it because they’ve got a 5-year-old child who’s been going through cancer treatments. They might have vulnerable adults in their life, who currently have COVID and they’re fighting.”

We’ve seen since March how difficult life is in the midst of a full-blown virus threat. Masks are a key way we can move forward, for everyone’s sake.

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