In response to Jeff Rubin’s concern about the Orthodox Jews not wearing masks (“Wear Your Masks!” (May 27, 2020), I believe no specific directions were given whether a mask needed to be worn the second one leaves the house to walk outside in the open space. In any event, the New England Journal of Medicine, a very well respected and peer reviewed journal, recently released the following:

We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.” (“Universal Masking in Hospitals in the Covid-19 Era,” Michael Klompas, M.D., M.P.H., Charles A. Morris, M.D., M.P.H., Julia Sinclair, M.B.A., Madelyn Pearson, D.N.P., R.N., and Erica S. Shenoy, M.D., Ph.D., April 1, 2020, NEJM.org)

So, it seems, medically speaking, wearing a mask when you are out for a walk is not medically necessary. One may choose to wear one, but do not go around berating all those who do not.