With all the hoo-ha about masks, I thought a little clarity might help. With some guidance from The Blonde, here's some things that could be helpful if you're concerned.
First do you understand what the mask's purpose is?
(go ahead, think about it, I'll wait)
The mask is to keep you from infecting other people. That's all. It's why they're made of paper.
That's right, paper.
They're there to trap your coughs and sneezes, not hold back anybody else's. That's why all these crochted and 15 layer and bandanna (hence the title) and custom cloth things are perhaps better than nothing, but not the real answer if you need protection. Also there's the fine print about bacteria vs viruses. Bacteria are 50 times the size of a virus.
There's also the idea of coverage. Your average mask covers nose, mouth, and chin.
What about eyes (aqueous matter)? Or eyebrows? Or hair?
If you are concerned or in a high risk group, consider a hazmat mask or one of those lucite ones that looks like a welder's mask.
Also, remember social distancing? 6 feet?
Saw a commercial that told the world droplets from a cough can travel 13 feet or more.
So why are we distancing? I guess regimentation starts early.
11 comments:
Exactly. They keep trying to scare us with stories of "spikes" but the morbidity rate is plunging. The government should get out of the way of the people. If you're vulnerable, stay home or mask up if you have to go out. If not, get out there and get back to normal.
My compliments the The Blonde. Something I don't see mentioned much is the benefit of masks confounding facial recognition. Take that, surveillance society!
deborah, your point has struck me more than once.
Again, the reason for the title.
Great first post ed.
Thanks for coming on board and I look forward to lots of new posts from you!
I am with Troop - great first post.
Also, I posted a picture of the mask I wear - I think deborah said I look like I belong in ISIS. It's a good look.
I wear masks indoors. Outside, not so much.
Some data I'd love to see, and which should be easy to obtain, but which I haven't seen anywhere:
a. Number of influenza deaths reported, first half of 2019.
b. Number of influenza (not Covid19) deaths reported, first half of 2020.
If a>b, Covid deaths are likely being over-reported. If b>a, likely under-reported.
Thanks, guys.
Mumps, death stats may be hard to find beyond '18. I've done some looking and it takes a lot of digging to find what you want.
You've got the beginnings of good search terms, but you may need to play with them a bit.
One thing I've noted is it sometimes helps to try to put them in sentence form - subject, verb, predicate. Adjectives can be tricky.
You can get away with it, Sixty.
So the best mask type I've seen was at the beginning of Covid. It's looks convenient to tie on and the drape looks easy to manage...no bottom tie:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/812714360/neck-gaiter-for-men-women-cloth-face?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=tie+on+mask&ref=sc_gallery-1-9&plkey=a8b532181c2e42c71d480019d9af08a04af89450%3A812714360&frs=1&bes=1&col=1
Maskcharades it is. I appreciate the clarity
The neck gaiter looks hot, in the not cool way.
Mumpsimus & edutcher: I read one time that influenza deaths were being counted as covid deaths. By whose counting I don't know. I tried to find out more about that but attributed my lack of success to my research abilities which aren't the best. Now I suspect it's important to some people to keep those statistics as unavailable or vague as possible.
MamaM said...
The neck gaiter looks hot, in the not cool way.
Originated by the SAS for very cold climates. Walking to work 25 years ago, I became wedded to them.
Then I met a girl.
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