(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Even though the vaccine is becoming more and more available, health officials strongly urge everyone across the country to continue wearing their masks. If you find that your stockpile is running low, Volusia County has begun distributing 100,000 surgical face masks. The face masks were provided by the state of Florida. So far, the county has distributed over 500,000 face masks within the community. If you can’t make it to one of the locations or do not live in Volusia County, you can find affordable surgical face masks here.

COCOA BEACH, Fla. – Leaders in Cocoa Beach announced on Friday that the city will no longer require the public to wear a face covering starting Monday. A mask mandate was put into place by city officials on June 30 as cases of COVID-19 began to erupt in all parts of the Sunshine State. Deleuil said he’s spoken with other business owners in town, and many are planning to still require a mask in order to enter their establishments. “Again, we have zero ability to regulate it.”The governor’s executive order doesn’t specifically address mask mandates because a statewide mask mandate was never issued. Cocoa Beach officials said while the city can no longer enforce a mask mandate, private owned businesses can continue to have mask policies as they see fit.

According to health experts, neck gaiters could even spread the virus further than not wearing a covering at all. Researchers from Duke University found that the neck gaiter they tested was “worse than nothing.”“The neck gaiter that we tested did essentially nothing, and worse than nothing, because it appeared to make large droplets into small droplets,” Isaac Henrion, the study’s co-author, told CBS News. Neck gaiters are made of a circular piece of fabric that sits around a person’s neck. Health experts say if a neck gaiter was made with two layers of cotton, it could be more effective. Walt Disney World banned neck gaiters last month, saying guests will be required to wear a mask with ear loops or ties.

“I told him smiling is a part of our uniform and I want to make my customers happy in these hard times. And we have deaf customers. “All other customers are so happy to see my smile and (they’re) giving so many compliments.”Now, back to the letter. As happy as Knowles felt being able to better communicate with customers, it had nothing on what Travers wrote on her behalf to Publix management. Asli texted, ‘I like to smile and I think this pandemic is making everyone upset and I want to make customers happy with my smile.

Whether we like it or not, face masks have become the new “it” item of 2020. According to Emergency Medicine Physician Dr. Rajiv Bahl, face masks are an effective way to keep from spreading COVID-19, but not all masks are created equal. Just like a bicycle helmet, if a face mask is not worn properly, it’s not providing proper protection. Yes - you absolutely need to wash a cloth face mask, just as you would your other laundry to maintain sanitary use. “Wearing cloth face coverings is an additional public health measure people should take to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” officials with the organization said.