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There's so much conflicting information out there right now that I'm not even listening to it. I'm wearing masks and avoiding people, because my wife has bad lu
by battery_cowboy 6y ago
There's so much conflicting information out there right now that I'm not even listening to it. I'm wearing masks and avoiding people, because my wife has bad lungs and I have a 6 month old. Until there's more facts that are rock solid, all anyone is doing is speculating. The real issue here is lack of consistency and leadership from the top levels of government (USA here). If we had a consistent message from the experts and politicians together, then there would be less speculation, less fighting over lockdowns, less misinformation, and less grasping at straws guessing what the virus is doing. Instead, we (Americans in aggregate) have lost trust in both the experts and politicians, which is resulting in major issues. The deadliness of the virus isn't the major issue, it's the infighting that's preventing us from fixing it that's the issue now and will result in more dead.
- afarrell 6y agoWhen you walk around outside, are you also carrying an umbrella? Because cloth masks aren't that effective at protecting the wearer and I don't see how else you can prevent someone else from getting close to you.
- battery_cowboy 6y agoI had n95 masks saved from the fires around me in previous years, but i generally don't run into people where i live so i can skip the mask when outdoors. People generally stay away from each other where i live, too. I don't live in a big city, so it's easier for me. But like i said before, I don't care about what people say about the efficacy of masks, i will wear one anyways. Your comment had no bearing on my plan to keep doing so, because, like i said, i don't trust any "facts" about this virus right now, so i default to the most safe choice: wearing a mask.
- afarrell 6y agooh sure. And good that you aren't finding it hard to keep distance. Stay healthy fellow human.
- graeme 6y agoTransmission risks are pretty low outside based on several studies. Especially if you keep distant, which isn’t too hard in most places if you can cross the street. (I live in a city, am never close to people outside).
- tomohawk 6y agocloth masks are not nearly as much about protecting the wearer as protecting everyone else from your germs. if you cough or exhale powerfully or suddenly, you're pushing your germs all over the place, unless you have a cloth mask on. that's why it's important for everyone to wear them. it's like washing your hands after going to the bathroom. yeah, it's gross not to, but the primary thing is to protect others from germs in your feces.
- afarrell 6y agoRight, masks are not primarily about protecting the wearer. So if you want to protect yourself from droplets, what tool do you reach for?
- tomohawk 6y agoWell, a cloth mask will provide about 65% protection to the wearer, so its better than nothing. If others are wearing cloth masks, then the protection is pretty good. If you need real droplet protection, as in you're extubating a covid patient, then you need a face guard, n95 mask, gown, and a bunch of other stuff. This link provides more info: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/keeping-the-coronavirus-from-infecting-health-care-workers https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/keeping-the-coronav...
- SomeoneFromCA 6y agoCompared to umbrellas, masks incur much lower extra costs and inconveniences. Even more importantly, we can almost perfectly predict if it will rain or not, within a day or two, and especially in US, there is no much need for umbrellas anyway - get a plastic bag and run to your car. Masks are also culturally acceptable right now.