prevent, mitigate, treat, or cure disease or other conditions, and, unlike a pharmaceutical or bio-
logic, achieves its purpose by physical, structural, or mechanical action but not through).
Furthermore, since a mask can easily be shown to have a negative impact on bodily functions in
3 ways: (1) with a finger oximeter that will show blood oxygen levels will drop, (2) with an OSHA
meter that measures O2 & CO2 levels that is in the area where one is breathing and (3) with blood
pressure readings taken before and after a period of time with a mask, the mask has consequences
to the health of any individual and therefore should only be prescribed by a medical doctor that
has evaluated a person for their ability to safely wear said medical device.
Ordering universal mask use can be said to be practicing medicine without a license which is
not legal. Additionally, OSHA has standards and regulations regarding mask use in the work-
place. The standards require that a person needs to be medically evaluated before a mask can be
worn, For more information on OSHA standards on PPE see https://m.youtube.com/watch? fea-
ture=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAROGKfIn0Qp YceA-NGmXJNZ-WwsR3 YQbRVUrLUTdAluW V_qw-
J4TSYe6nU4U &v=KeovvuviAJM#menu. Aside from these legal issues is the question of whether
an ordinance not passed by a legislative body can be legally enforced. And lastly there are issues as
to whether a mask mandate goes against our constitutional and civil rights.
What about the liability issues with a mask policy?
You may be concerned about the liability issues of someone who acquires Covid-19 and claims
they got in in your shop or business if you don’t have a mask policy. Such a lawsuit would have
no merit as there would be no way to prove the causation of a person’s illness. On the other hand,
if you have a universal mask policy, you could be deemed liable if the mask causes harm to one
of your patrons or employees. Short term use of a mask can cause a person to become dizzy and
faint. If this happens and the person injures themselves on your premises and you have a manda-
tory mask policy, you could be legally liable.
There are also health issues that can be caused by prolonged wearing of a mask. This is because
the mask will collect germs that are being exhaled. The warm moist interior surface of the mask
will then act as a petri dish and multiply these germs. Rebreathing these bacteria and viruses can
cause illness to the mask wearer. Some medical conditions that can be caused by prolonged mask
wearing include, but are not limited to: pleurisy, bronchitis, Legionnaires’ Disease, collapsed lung,
impetigo, staph infections, heart attacks and even Covid. If you are requiring employees to wear
a mask and they develop a medical condition that can be attributed to the forced mask wearing,
you could be found liable for their medical problems.
At this point, you may want to argue that medical doctors wear masks
all day. Until recently they were not frequently used outside of surgery or dental offices. They
are actually called surgical masks because they were designed to be used in surgery to stop spittle
from the medical staff from contaminating an open sterile surgical site. Surgery takes place ina
controlled, air-conditioned environment. In addition, extra oxygen is pumped into the room to
compensate for the mask wearing. Surgeons are trained to wear masks, know not to touch them
and change them frequently. When they are used in a doctor's office, they are changed between
each patient encounter to avoid cross contamination. The pores on both surgical masks and N95
