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Face mask or no face mask?
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Regarding comments about masks not being effective, in the 1918 epidemic people wore masks made of gauze, but flu transmission was lower where masks wearing was adhered to. If people touch their face more wearing a mask, well, get used to using sanitising gel after each touch!4
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »thechessking1 wrote: »Wear a mask since it is mandated otherwise I would not. I have worked out in the public since it has started and have seen the the trend with people wearing them up until it was mandated. The fall into two groups with little middle ground. Either100% for it or 100% against it. The fear people have of other people in public not wearing a mask is sad. If you are that afraid, please shop online and have it delivered.
If you are so fragile about your freedom that you can't respect public health recommendations in the middle of a pandemic, please shop online and have it delivered.
^^^ Yes to this comment a hundred times. Thank you.
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Unless everyone properly wears a mask, there is no point.2
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »thechessking1 wrote: »Wear a mask since it is mandated otherwise I would not. I have worked out in the public since it has started and have seen the the trend with people wearing them up until it was mandated. The fall into two groups with little middle ground. Either100% for it or 100% against it. The fear people have of other people in public not wearing a mask is sad. If you are that afraid, please shop online and have it delivered.
If you are so fragile about your freedom that you can't respect public health recommendations in the middle of a pandemic, please shop online and have it delivered.
^^^ Yes to this comment a hundred times. Thank you.
Except for cucumbers - my greenhouse is over-run with the blasted things and I need cucumber recipes!
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »thechessking1 wrote: »Wear a mask since it is mandated otherwise I would not. I have worked out in the public since it has started and have seen the the trend with people wearing them up until it was mandated. The fall into two groups with little middle ground. Either100% for it or 100% against it. The fear people have of other people in public not wearing a mask is sad. If you are that afraid, please shop online and have it delivered.
If you are so fragile about your freedom that you can't respect public health recommendations in the middle of a pandemic, please shop online and have it delivered.
The poster said they wore a mask were it was mandated, otherwise they do not. In my area masks are mandated in public indoor spaces as well as outside when social distancing isn't possible, maybe the same is in their area. I wear one religiously in these cases, not in other cases like when I'm running by myself in my subdivision at 5AM.
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thechessking1 wrote: »Wear a mask since it is mandated otherwise I would not. I have worked out in the public since it has started and have seen the the trend with people wearing them up until it was mandated. The fall into two groups with little middle ground. Either100% for it or 100% against it. The fear people have of other people in public not wearing a mask is sad. If you are that afraid, please shop online and have it delivered.
What's sad is the insistence that those who are concerned with minimizing the risk of others getting ill should withdraw from society and cede it to those who don't care about the impacts of their actions.
If you see someone using a turn signal, do you conclude they live in fear and should stop driving? No, you probably think it's a generally considerate thing to do for public safety.
When I see people acting irresponsible in public, I'm less concerned for MYSELF than I am for all the other people (including the vulnerable) who may be impacted by that and the economic recovery that simply can't begin until we get over the active spread of COVID-19.16 -
Unless everyone properly wears a mask, there is no point.
Can you walk me through how that works? Is COVID19 guaranteed to always transmit to anyone within 6 feet of an unmasked, infected person, to anyone nearby, as in does your perfect mask necessity scenario assume a perfect virus?
Given the virus doesn't always and instantly transmit, I think there's a tendency as one goes from less masks worn less properly to more masks worn properly for transmission to go down. Eventually, somewhere below perfect mask protocol, if transmission is low enough, the whole web collapses. Assuming COVID19 essentially is contagious in a body for 2 weeks, if the transmission rate slows to less than 1 transmission per 2 weeks, you're there. Alternatively, look at it as reproduction for the virus since it is exponential reproduction. If transmission slows to a sick person infects less than 1 other person on average, the virus also eventually disappears.
In between, the slower the transmission rate, the less overwhelmed the healthcare triage system for treating the sick as there are fewer of them. The fewer in triage, the more that do survive, which I think is far from pointless.9 -
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »thechessking1 wrote: »Wear a mask since it is mandated otherwise I would not. I have worked out in the public since it has started and have seen the the trend with people wearing them up until it was mandated. The fall into two groups with little middle ground. Either100% for it or 100% against it. The fear people have of other people in public not wearing a mask is sad. If you are that afraid, please shop online and have it delivered.
If you are so fragile about your freedom that you can't respect public health recommendations in the middle of a pandemic, please shop online and have it delivered.
The poster said they wore a mask were it was mandated, otherwise they do not. In my area masks are mandated in public indoor spaces as well as outside when social distancing isn't possible, maybe the same is in their area. I wear one religiously in these cases, not in other cases like when I'm running by myself in my subdivision at 5AM.
The poster also said that anyone who doesn't want to be around folks who won't wear masks (or is "afraid" to be, in the poster's loaded language) should stay home.6 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »I wear one when there are local mandates for use and/or businesses that say you need one to enter.
Other than that it's going in my pocket.
This is my position as well.
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I wear a mask at all indoor places regardless of local requirements or mandates or the requirements of the business. If they don't like it, tough *kitten*. I never had any problems, but if I am asked to remove the mask or harassed about wearing it, I would leave and take my business someplace else.
I wear a mask outside too when I need to talk to a vendor or a neighbor, or when I see a lot of people moving around and safe distancing is not possible. I don't talk to anybody not wearing masks unless they are across the street. The only places where I don't wear a mask is in the car or at home.
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »
You do realize that those cheap paper masks do nothing to protect you? They are to protect you if someone coughs or sneezes. So, it takes one person who is sick and not wearing a mask. If you really want to be protected, you better wear a hazmat suite. Do you wear goggles? If not, the virus can enter through your eyes. So, the mask makes people "feel" safe.1 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »
You do realize that those cheap paper masks do nothing to protect you? They are to protect you if someone coughs or sneezes. So, it takes one person who is sick and not wearing a mask. If you really want to be protected, you better wear a hazmat suite. Do you wear goggles? If not, the virus can enter through your eyes. So, the mask makes people "feel" safe.
They don't do "nothing", they add a measure of protection considerably beyond nothing. Distancing is another protective measure. If someone sneezes or coughs in their cheap paper mask 7 feet away from me, the chance of virus transmission is much lower than an unobstructed cough or sneeze 2 feet away.18 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »
You do realize that those cheap paper masks do nothing to protect you? They are to protect you if someone coughs or sneezes. So, it takes one person who is sick and not wearing a mask. If you really want to be protected, you better wear a hazmat suite. Do you wear goggles? If not, the virus can enter through your eyes. So, the mask makes people "feel" safe.
While nonmedical masks confer some protection on the wearer, their main purpose is to protect others from virus that the the wearer is shedding. So, yes, it takes one person who is sick and not wearing a mask. THAT'S THE POINT.11 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »
You do realize that those cheap paper masks do nothing to protect you? They are to protect you if someone coughs or sneezes. So, it takes one person who is sick and not wearing a mask. If you really want to be protected, you better wear a hazmat suite. Do you wear goggles? If not, the virus can enter through your eyes. So, the mask makes people "feel" safe.
This stuff about the virus entering through your eyes sounds like pure speculation. Can we get exposed to diseases via our eyeballs? I'm sure we can. But viral load is a thing and if someone coughs in your vicinity, mere access to your eyeball isn't going to mean you necessarily get infected.2 -
janejellyroll wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »
You do realize that those cheap paper masks do nothing to protect you? They are to protect you if someone coughs or sneezes. So, it takes one person who is sick and not wearing a mask. If you really want to be protected, you better wear a hazmat suite. Do you wear goggles? If not, the virus can enter through your eyes. So, the mask makes people "feel" safe.
This stuff about the virus entering through your eyes sounds like pure speculation. Can we get exposed to diseases via our eyeballs? I'm sure we can. But viral load is a thing and if someone coughs in your vicinity, mere access to your eyeball isn't going to mean you necessarily get infected.
No scientific knowledge, but I'd guess the biggest danger would be picking up fomites from surfaces and rubbing them into eyes.1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »
You do realize that those cheap paper masks do nothing to protect you? They are to protect you if someone coughs or sneezes. So, it takes one person who is sick and not wearing a mask. If you really want to be protected, you better wear a hazmat suite. Do you wear goggles? If not, the virus can enter through your eyes. So, the mask makes people "feel" safe.
This stuff about the virus entering through your eyes sounds like pure speculation. Can we get exposed to diseases via our eyeballs? I'm sure we can. But viral load is a thing and if someone coughs in your vicinity, mere access to your eyeball isn't going to mean you necessarily get infected.
No scientific knowledge, but I'd guess the biggest danger would be picking up fomites from surfaces and rubbing them into eyes.
Sure, but we can minimize that without goggles by limiting the surfaces we touch outside our home, reducing the number of times we touch our face/eyes, and regularly washing our hands. It isn't going to eliminate the possibility of getting ill, but we basically can't ever eliminate that possibility in life . . . we're simply managing risks as best we can.
My point is that there is no good evidence that we need to wear goggles in public or we might as well not bother to do anything at all.
I'm pretty sure (well, I hope) that @cgvet37 wouldn't argue that we shouldn't bother to ever wash our hands because we might still get sick anyway. The same principle applies to masks.2 -
I always wear one when I leave the house except at the beach (I go to out of the way empty beaches.) They have outdoor dining now (all indoor dining was reclosed) and I use a face shield while eating. Restaurants do keep the tables 6 feet apart but I am a bit paranoid because other diners are not wearing anything. The waiters are wearing masks at least. I keep hand sanitizer at the table. Some restaurants put hand sanitizer on the table like a condiment lol!2
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It really is a difficult question. The effects of masks is quite small and mainly to protect others from any infection the wearer may have. While I wear one when out shopping or in public buildings I sometimes worry if it has a negative effect on my own risk. I worry that any sense of security teh wearing gives will make me more likely to go out and shop and socialise. While that will benefit the economy it will, to a degree, increase my own risk.0
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Watched many coming out of stores after touching dirty carts, surfaces, ect - can't wait to get mask off and watch them rub their mouth and nose.
It's the whole mix of knowledge on how you transfer things to yourself, and to others, that is lacking.
Flu season annually appears to have accomplished nothing for being prepared for the vast masses - no wonder the flu kills so many every season.
I'm sure part of that is coming on in to work/school/other while actively sick and others get it, and C-19 being spread by those with no idea they are sick.
I don't wear mask working out on rides/runs.
My long bike rides are only as long as my 2 bottles of water will take me since I'm not going in anywhere for refill, because I don't bring mask or hand cleaner.
Runs are easy for the rare person on the sidewalk, I can easily move to street.1
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