Of course hospital COVID gear includes both N95 mask and face shield, especially because the eyes can be another point of entry for the virus. It’s only recently that people are asking whether face shields alone would be useful.
I think the problem is that many people have difficulty wearing tight fitting masks for 8 hours, particularly in warm weather, thus seeking alternatives. Masks are easy for short periods, but every worker I have asked, regardless of age, has difficulty with masks all day.
I think some people can’t wear masks almost at all or even at all due to asthma, etc. I think most people can wear masks. School isn’t 8 hours even in regular times (although bus riding can increase the time by a lot. We are maybe going to have school only until just before lunch for students. If lots of teachers and students get sick we are probably going to have distance learning again. I am frankly very scared of the idea of people abandoning masks and using shields instead of adding shields.
I would think it would be much easier to teach in a shield, but as others have said, there will be more studies on whether and how they are effective. Like a prior poster, I am guessing it would be much easier to get compliance by youngsters this way.
Wondering out loud if it would be helpful for patients and visitors if there would be a way to communicate this to those looking in. Perhaps some sort of sticker they could wear on their badge saying I have antibodies?
Brainstorming, so add thoughts as folks have them - pro or con.
By doing or saying nothing it certainly doesn’t give a good impression.
At my hair salon the stylist wear both a mask and face shield - and have plexiglas around their stations.
I still haven’t gone in yet. I will wait at least another month and see how our numbers are looking then. For now my StlyeEdit spray is still working and I can pull my hair into a pony, which is good for summer. It’s been years since I could do that. So, not going to salon is still working for me.
My state is not doing well either, and from what I’m hearing about mask and social distancing compliance, not at all surprising. One or our neighbors had a party last night with MANY cars. My part of the neighborhood is zero lot line, so no real ability to flow into a back yard- I’m guessing social distancing was non-existent.
I read somewhere that there were researchers who had developed a clear mask. That would help with the not being able to see facial expressions at least.
Our local pediatric hospital recently came up with recommendations to our local government for the mitigation of Covid in children once schools reopen. They are not recommending that children be required to wear masks.
That’s not to say however that the government will be following those recommendations however. They will also be getting input from school boards and teachers’ unions.
I have thoughts along those lines too. Maybe it’s too hot.
We’re in a bit of a heat wave and I was working outside, masked, and it got unpleasant quickly. I need to find a sun hat with a good terry sweatband inside, with a face shield. And that is machine washable (the hat part - I’ll put the face shield in the dishwasher ideally). I have not seen anything like that so may have to break out the DIY plans.
@suteiki77 - I am also concerned about being around a passel of kids with questionable nose/mouth hygiene under the best of circumstances.
Absolutely not an excuse for not wearing a mask. First, we don’t know if, and for how long, people remain immune. A staffer could have @ mild reinfection and be contagious. Second, it sends a terrible message to the public.
That’s not to say however that the government will be following those recommendations however. They will also be getting input from school boards and teachers’ unions.
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Thank you. Our district is talking about whether the youngest grades will be exempt from mask wearing or not. I’m in the middle school and my students all have masks already and have been wearing them when out in their community (it is required in public and most stores in that area seem to be trying to enforce it from what I hear).
I am guessing your country has more control over the virus than ours. If so, I think that using the same guidelines might not fit our situation in the USA right now.
In the end, I have about zero vote on what will happen and it has been decided by the people in charge that everyone will wear masks (with some possible exceptions like the very young.)
I never used to believe the claim that masks can make people more likely to get infected until I was with Dh for a curb side pickup the first time we did that and he had to wear a mask. Talk about doing everything wrong!! He should have been in a video of what not to do with a mask. I can see how someone wearing it wrong and touching it a lot, adjusting it a lot, taking it on and off, etc could end up touching their eyes, nose, and mouth more and be more likely rather than less to infect themselves from surfaces. However, if what we are hearing is true - that surfaces are not so likely to cause infection and aerosolized virus is the prime method of spread - then I think maybe masks are still better than not in even people who touch their masks a lot.
When I looked at Florida’s ICU usage, I did drill down to the county level, because I wondered about exactly what you were worried about. I wrongly assumed nobody would care about the county level so I didn’t include what I found.
In the big Florida counties, Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, ICU availability is about the same as it is statewide.
