5 ms·

Something odd I noticed in my local area is that for the most part all the protestors are wearing masks, yet people happily lounge around _inside_ restaurants w

Something odd I noticed in my local area is that for the most part all the protestors are wearing masks, yet people happily lounge around _inside_ restaurants without masks (and many times the staff themselves aren't wearing masks). I really feel like the protests are less of a vector than people think they are given this behavior. Perhaps it's like the car accident paradox where streets that would seem more dangerous have less actual accidents, because people pay more attention when driving them.

ncallaway 6y ago
One thing that really frustrates me is that mask usage among protestors in Seattle is very good. Well north of 90%. I look around in the protests and in hundreds of people see one or two not wearing a mask. The you look across the lines at the national guard and the Seattle PD at see one or two masks at most! Why aren't the NG and PD wearing masks? Like, it's the smallest sign of caring and they don't do it.
leetcrew 6y ago
AFAIK, we don't yet have a definitive conclusion on how effective the cotton masks that most people have actually are. we're pretty sure they're better than nothing, but that's about it. in my city, we've had thousands of people in a densely packed crowd marching on the interstate. they seem to have exhibited good discipline in wearing masks, but the masks would have to be really effective for that to be less of an infection vector than tens of unmasked people gathering in restaurants at a time. imo, arguing that the increased transmission risk is justified by the importance of the cause is reasonable. arguing that thousands of people gathering in the streets doesn't really move the needle for covid infections is a fantasy.
AnimalMuppet 6y ago
Most people who go into restaurants do so to eat. Doing that with a mask on is kind of hard. The staff is a different matter.

ncallaway 6y ago

One thing that really frustrates me is that mask usage among protestors in Seattle is very good. Well north of 90%. I look around in the protests and in hundreds of people see one or two not wearing a mask. The you look across the lines at the national guard and the Seattle PD at see one or two masks at most! Why aren't the NG and PD wearing masks? Like, it's the smallest sign of caring and they don't do it.

leetcrew 6y ago

AFAIK, we don't yet have a definitive conclusion on how effective the cotton masks that most people have actually are. we're pretty sure they're better than nothing, but that's about it. in my city, we've had thousands of people in a densely packed crowd marching on the interstate. they seem to have exhibited good discipline in wearing masks, but the masks would have to be really effective for that to be less of an infection vector than tens of unmasked people gathering in restaurants at a time. imo, arguing that the increased transmission risk is justified by the importance of the cause is reasonable. arguing that thousands of people gathering in the streets doesn't really move the needle for covid infections is a fantasy.

AnimalMuppet 6y ago

Most people who go into restaurants do so to eat. Doing that with a mask on is kind of hard. The staff is a different matter.