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 


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•HRES 1084 IH 

transmit the virus to others when they do not know they 

are infected; 

Whereas research conducted long before the COVID–19 pandemic has shown the utility of wearing masks in providing 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 Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University 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 Control 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 Control and Prevention on July 17, 2020, found no secondary cases of COVID–19 in 139 mask-wearing clients 


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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 maskwearing 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 populations; 

Whereas raising awareness about the effectiveness of everyone 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 universal 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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the designation of World Mask 

3 Week; 


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1 (2) encourages Americans to wear appropriate 

2 face coverings in situations where social distancing 

3 is difficult or impossible, particularly in indoor envi4 ronments, both to protect themselves and to protect 

5 older Americans or others with health conditions 

6 that increase the risks of serious illness due to 

7 COVID–19; 

8 (3) recognizes that mask-wearing should be 

9 coupled with other measures recommended by the 

10 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 

11 State and local public health agencies, including fre12 quent handwashing and physical distancing, to fur13 ther reduce the risk of COVID–19 transmission; and 

14 (4) encourages following the consensus advice 

15 of public health experts to wear face coverings to 

16 meaningfully reduce transmission rates for COVID– 

17 19, resulting in fewer deaths, fewer Americans made 

18 seriously ill, and lower economic disruption. 

Æ 


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