Do you voluntarily wear a mask in public places

[Black Widow Void]

Just curious...
and if curious of my answer, it's "no."

 

[zekko]

I haven't been out since the CDC recommended it. I plan on picking up some supplies tomorrow, and I haven't decided yet if I will. I haven't so far. If I do, it won't be to protect myself, but to protect the workers at the store. I'm skeptical of the necessity of the mask, but South Korea had good results with them.

 

[Xenom0rph]

All the stores ran out of medical masks so i wear a shemagh.... On a side note, it's funny how society changed over night.... Just last year if i wore a bandana or shemagh in public, cops would pull me over and run a background on me.....

 

[Xenom0rph]

No joke, i've even seen a guy wear a balaclava and casually stroll into a bank and nobody even flinched..... Society changed over night....

 

[Poonani Maker]

No.

 

[Spaz]

No.

How much does a trailer like this guy has cost?

 

[Who Dares Win]

I do not weae a mask but I cover my face with a bandana, think of the outlaws from cowboy movies.

The funny thing is that there is a subconscious effect on people and often I see looks of panic when I get inside a store then few seconds after they get back to their stuff.

 

[DelayedGratification]

I haven't been out since the CDC recommended it. I plan on picking up some supplies tomorrow, and I haven't decided yet if I will. I haven't so far. If I do, it won't be to protect myself, but to protect the workers at the store. I'm skeptical of the necessity of the mask, but South Korea had good results with them.

South Korea as well as Japan, and the newly-reopened Wuhan all have widespread mask use.

This is one of the few things about this virus that are not counterintuitive. There is solid evidence it spreads through droplets, perhaps even through aerosols. Increasingly strong evidence that a high number of people are asymptomatic, and also evidence that asymptomatic people are contagious.

So while the recommendations seem correct that a basic face-covering is not good enough to provide protection in an extended, close-distance encounter (like a doctor treating a patient), it's enough of a barrier for droplets to reduce the rate of droplet-based transmission. Wearing a mask in a grocery store seems no inconvenience, and something of a no-brainer if it's going to help insulate the workers from this.

TL;DR: Same as above, only I'm less skeptical.

 

[DelayedGratification]

I do not weae a mask but I cover my face with a bandana, think of the outlaws from cowboy movies.

The funny thing is that there is a subconscious effect on people and often I see looks of panic when I get inside a store then few seconds after they get back to their stuff.

That's one of the good things about the official recommendation from the CDC: it normalizes mask usage in society. Now when people wear masks (for whatever justification that person has, rational or emotional), at least they aren't looked down on as people who are in a hysterical panic. Rather, just people who are taking social distancing seriously.

 

[Xenom0rph]

I think the long term question is whether or not we're weakening the human species by encouraging society to embrace such measures....

....will we be required to wear helmets 24/7 next....????.....snowflake culture is ruining western civilization.....

 

[RickTheToad]

It's pointless in terms of COVID-19 for two reasons. One, the size of the virus is 0.01 micron, the N95 mask we use is questionable at best that it can protect against it. However, a regular mask will not. Plus, I see many people who don masks are wearing them incorrectly. In order for a mask to be effective, they nee to have a seal on all sides so nothing can get in. Most masks people are wearing have openings on the sides of their face and/or around the bridge of their nose.

Second, this 6 ft part is pointless and not 100% true. Firstly, you have some reports stating that it is airborne, and others stating that it isn't. If it is airborne, then the virus will continue to float in the air until it hits and attaches to something. If it isn't airborne, then don't touch a surface then your face. If people will not touch their face, then the infection rate would had been lower. COVID-19 is in the same family as the common cold virus. Depending on a person's own health and aliments is what determine's if they can fight off the virus or not.

Top tips:

1) Drink lots of water
2) Don't touch your face. As @Amante Silvestre does, wash or sanitize your hands after touching anything.
3) Eat healthy
4) Exercise
5) Relax. Stress is a killer on the immune system.

 

[DelayedGratification]

It's pointless in terms of COVID-19 for two reasons. One, the size of the virus is 0.01 micron, the N95 mask we use is questionable at best that it can protect against it. However, a regular mask will not. Plus, I see many people who don masks are wearing them incorrectly. In order for a mask to be effective, they nee to have a seal on all sides so nothing can get in. Most masks people are wearing have openings on the sides of their face and/or around the bridge of their nose.

Second, this 6 ft part is pointless and not 100% true. Firstly, you have some reports stating that it is airborne, and others stating that it isn't. If it is airborne, then the virus will continue to float in the air until it hits and attaches to something. If it isn't airborne, then don't touch a surface then your face. If people will not touch their face, then the infection rate would had been lower. COVID-19 is in the same family as the common cold virus. Depending on a person's own health and aliments is what determine's if they can fight off the virus or not.

Except from what I've been reading, it's not about filtering out the virus particles, which is why any face covering will do. Airborne transmission (via aerosols) is different than droplet transmission. Face coverings are primarily about reducing the spread of droplets from the wearer. My impression is that virus transmission via droplets isn't a terribly controversial concept, and why would reducing the efficacy of a likely infection vector be a bad thing?

The following is something of an 8th-grade reading-level article, but it has decent references to their sources and I don't have time to dig up anything more authoritative at the moment:

How Germs Are Transmitted

Droplet transmission is one way to spread germs. Learn what you should do to protect yourself from illnesses that are spread this way.

www.verywellhealth.com

 

[DelayedGratification]

I think the long term question is whether or not we're weakening the human species by encouraging society to embrace such measures....

....will we be required to wear helmets 24/7 next....????.....snowflake culture is ruining western civilization.....

Well, smoking death rate is neck and neck with COVID-19 death rate. If culling is the goal, then let's get everyone to smoke, just like the good old days.

 

[Black Widow Void]

Poonani Maker
I didn't have time to watch the entire clip, but I did look up an individual that was mentioned and liked his viewpoint.

 

[Atom Smasher]

I actually am supposed to receive a pack of 50 masks tomorrow. It seems logical to me that a mask must afford some level of protection. I can always use them for one of my dusty hobbies anyway. It will give me a bit of peace of mind in the grocery store, even if it’s imaginary. I go shopping only during the “old timers’” hours early in the morning, and I feel underdressed as one of the few who isn’t wearing a mask.

I’m wondering if I’ve had this virus already, in January and February. I had what I thought was a bad cold, but I noticed it went right to my lungs. I would often wake up with some difficulty breathing, and coughing fits would leave me gasping for air. I never take my temperature so I don’t know if I had a fever or not. I still have a persistent dry cough.

At any rate, even if a mask is a placebo for going to the grocery store, I’ll take it. After all, my age puts me in a higher risk category.

 

[redskinsfan92]

Yes, I currently have some surgicalmasks. Supposed to have some N95 masks from China in the mail. Shipping is slow right now though. One of my orders seems to be stuck in New York.

 

[DelayedGratification]

Poonani Maker
I didn't have time to watch the entire clip, but I did look up an individual that was mentioned and liked his viewpoint.

Not sure I agree with his assertion of 0.2%, seems pulled out of thin air. That said, he's dead straight that the real disaster is that it got to the point where we have to do mitigation rather than containment. Unfortunately it will take a several orders of magnitude increase in testing to be able to remotely consider switching to containment.

 

[DelayedGratification]

I actually am supposed to receive a pack of 50 masks tomorrow. It seems logical to me that a mask must afford some level of protection. I can always use them for one of my dusty hobbies anyway. It will give me a bit of peace of mind in the grocery store, even if it’s imaginary. I go shopping only during the “old timers’” hours early in the morning, and I feel underdressed as one of the few who isn’t wearing a mask.

I have a second box of 50 disposable masks ordered. Mostly because I want to ensure I have enough (I'm assuming they're not terribly durable), plus I can use them later. I've also already shared some of the original box with my GF and other friends who had nothing at all.

 

[wifehunter]

Poonani Maker
I didn't have time to watch the entire clip, but I did look up an individual that was mentioned and liked his viewpoint.

Knowing what is fake news, or not, is a huge challenge.

I'm still skeptical over the whole situation.

This could be a massive power play.

 

[DelayedGratification]

This could be a massive power play.

Or... it could be a real, dire situation where a lot of people will get hurt in various ways (their health, their finances, perhaps their life). And it could also be that those in power are using it to their advantage.

Doesn't have to be one or the other.

The latter doesn't necessarily invalidate the possibility that brute force mitigation is one of the few effective public health tools we have left until new developments unfold.