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We Europeans are continually surprised that talking about masks is still a thing.* Except for 1 or 2 outlier countries masking is over. * Unless they are fami
by fullmoon 4y ago
We Europeans are continually surprised that talking about masks is still a thing.*
Except for 1 or 2 outlier countries masking is over.
* Unless they are familiar with U.S. politics
- morsch 4y agoSmall outlier countries like Germany, where I still see masks regularly in various settings, and where FFP2 masks are either still mandatory in public transport or just stopped being mandatory a few days ago. Also mandatory in doctor's offices, hospitals.
- fullmoon 4y agoYes, Germany is one of those few outliers in the 27 EU countries / Europe 44. Land mass or self-perceived importance from within notwithstanding. The result of Germany’s remarkable interventions is remarkable in its mediocrity.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- rayiner 4y agoTo be fair, Germans are famously paranoid about health. Are you keeping your kidneys covered so you don’t catch a cold?
- fnordpiglet 4y agoI know plenty of people who bundle up warm against the cold but refuse to wear a mask to prevent the cold. Convenience over effectiveness.
- morsch 4y agoGermans are famously paranoid about health?
- akavi 4y agoWhen I was in Germany at the end of this September, there were certainly plenty of signs saying masks were mandatory on public transport. Compliance with said signs, however, was well south of 50%.
- morsch 4y agoI ride the subway almost every day and that's not been my experience. I guess it varies by region.
- howinteresting 4y agoIndoor masking is quite common in the SF Bay Area.
- TaylorAlexander 4y agoI live in the SF Bay Area. Yes you will always see masks but I’m surprised how many people you see who don’t wear them.
- howinteresting 4y agoYeah, that's definitely true. At the grocery store near me (bougie area, a lot of older people) I see maybe 50-60% of people masked. On the other hand, now that I'm quadruple vaccinated and use an N95 I'm not overly bothered by people not wearing masks around me.
- ghaff 4y agoAnd that's shockingly high for Massachusetts where it's probably less than 1% in general--outside of healthcare settings and probably a few percent higher on public transit.
- mistrial9 4y agoyes and, you see "social signal" surgical masks and also clinical N-95 variations.. personally I do wear the N-95 at the grocery store at this time. I throw them out after a few weeks of use and use a new one. A box of ten is about $15 at a local hardware store near me.
- TurkishPoptart 4y agoIt's a cult over there. They get guilted into feeling like bioterrorists if they don't.
- howinteresting 4y agoMany people are prosocial and don't need to be guilted into things, unlike what conservatives think.
- rconti 4y agoWait, are you saying Europeans are surprised talking about it is still a thing, because everyone wears them? Or because nobody wears them? Just got back from Germany yesterday, and while masks are required on most public transport (but not airplanes), you'll see a decent amount of compliance (50%?) but not anywhere else indoors. Minimal masking in public spaces on public transport, stores, airplanes, etc in my experience in Germany/France/UK. There's absolutely more masking going on here in the Bay Area.
- amilios 4y agoUnfortunately I'm quite sure it's the latter. Even in Canada, in MTL where I live, on public transit it's maybe 5-6% that is masking. For most people the pandemic is simply "over", regardless of what the data says or how overwhelmed hospitals are.
- TurkishPoptart 4y agoTo be clear, hospitals being "overwhelmed", i.e. their capacity, is a function related to personnel. When our state (WA) fired thousands of healthcare workers for not getting an experimental vaccine that few of them needed (natural immunity is a thing, as much as Big Pharma would like to suppress it), our capacity decreased because we lost nurses. It doesn't necessarily mean that _no beds are available_.
- anon_coward_ghk 4y agoI am a medical resident working in WA state, just spent a month in the ICU, can confirm the shortages are primarily nurse based, not bed based. Also note that while I saw several influenza cases in the icu, I didn't see any covid.
- fnordpiglet 4y agoBtw masks work for influenza too! I plan to keep wearing masks during viral outbreaks. Why not? Beats the hell out of being sick.