The 'face mask exempt' ID cards circulating online are completely fake

• The Department of Justice released a statement last week informing people that "Face Mask Exempt" cards were fake.
• The cards, which have circulated online, state that people who carry them are allowed to not wear masks.
• The cards say that if the carrier wears a mask, they would be putting themselves at risk fo mental or physical harm.
• "These cards do not carry the force of law. The 'Freedom to Breathe Agency,' or 'FTBA,' is not a government agency," the DOJ said in its statement.

Cards being shared online that claim to exempt people from wearing masks during the novel coronavirus pandemic are fake, the Department of Justice said in a statement.

The cards, which have circulated online, state that wearing a mask will put carriers at risk of mental or physical impairment, and that the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) bars official from questioning their decision not to wear face coverings.

Some cards include the Department of Justice seal and cite the "Freedom to Breathe Agency" — an agency that doesn't exist in any state or federal government organization.

"Do not be fooled by the chicanery and misappropriation of the DOJ eagle," US Attorney Martin said in a statement. "These cards do not carry the force of law. The 'Freedom to Breathe Agency,' or 'FTBA,' is not a government agency."

In its own statement, the Americans with Disabilities Act website said that the cards were "not issued by the Department and are not endorsed by the Department."

The Federal Trade Commission also rejected the authenticity of the cards in a statement Monday.

Under current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, face masks are recommended in many public settings in the US to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Some people have refused to wear masks for various reasons, including fear of racial profiling and a belief that the government should not force its citizens into dressing or acting a certain way.

But studies have shown that masks work — research from the UK found that they could be enough to contain the outbreak without a lockdown.

A model from the University of Washington recently found that if 95% of US residents wore face masks for the next three months, 33,000 lives could be saved.

A doctor recently documented on Facebook that her oxygen saturation and heart rate remained the same while wearing four different types of masks, compared to when she was not wearing a face covering.

"Though maybe inconvenient for some, you can still breathe," she wrote. "As a physician, I urge you and ask you to please wear a mask to protect yourself and those who cannot safely wear a mask (many of my patients because they are under 2 years old)."