Thanks, that data is certainly relevant. It would be interesting to see the correlation between testing, deaths and cases of the top countries.
People in my part of rural Maryland are not, have not been, probably will not wear a mask where they are not required. Not everyone mind you but the majority will wear them where they are required and are not wearing them where they are not required (i.e. Outside). Now of course there are some wearing them everywhere, maybe 5 -10%, maybe. And of course there are a few violating the recommendations.
In the end our numbers in all of Maryland have been and continue to drop. I don’t think we need to force everyone everywhere to wear a mask constantly even where it is not required. Obviously your area may be in a different state of the pandemic. YMMV.
I am a member of a Facebook group designed for Wisconsin residents who support our governor’s efforts regarding COVID-19. Several people have posted about being mocked or taunted for wearing masks. I have not had that experience but I have no reason to doubt the truth of the posts. If you have been mocked for wearing a mask or have witnessed it happening to someone else, can you share here? Thanks.
I just get really annoyed at some of the posts on a local forum where some posters don’t think they need to wear masks because they’re not concerned about getting covid and also think those who are concerned about getting it or at higher risk should just stay home.
I’m certainly not ready to go to a restaurant or retail store, but why should I be prevented from going to the supermarket or pharmacy just so some selfish person can go without a mask. Wearing a mask doesn’t prevent anyone from partaking in all the now opened establishments. It just makes life riskier for the rest of us.
At this point, when making international or even inter-state comparisons, we need to look at not the total identified cases since January, but (plausible estimates of) the total current cases. If you have more cases now, you need to be testing more now.
There are two reasons to do testing: finding out if a person you suspect has covid does have covid, and surveillance. The more people actually have the disease, the more people you have to test who come before you with symptoms or as contacts of identified cases. The more people actually have the disease, the more you have to do surveillance to find out where the clusters are. The more disease, the more you need to test.
We have to do more testing than countries with smaller prevalence of covid (prevalence is the fraction of people currently infected). More testing is finding a lot more cases in the US because we have a lot more cases. If a low prevalence country did more testing, they would not find a lot more cases, because the other cases aren’t there to be found.
I agree. I hate that all the charts keep showing number of total cumulative cases and deaths instead of CURRENT data. I want more current info on Worldometer - like daily positivity rates, and more localized data.
This discussion brings to mind when one of my in-laws went before her School District’s Board of Ed to complain about the fact that she was told that she could not sent P&J sandwiches with her kid to school. The reason being that there was one child who had a very severe peanut allergy in her class. Didn’t matter to her.
Obviously not my favorite in-law.
On masks, if you dig into the Chu et al meta-analysis, published in Lancet on June 1st, four studies addressed the use of masks for COVID-19. Out of those four studies, one of those found 0% of HCP acquired COVID-19 from patient exposure, whether they used PPE or not. One of the retrospective studies compared N95 to not wearing a mask at all. That leaves two studies on COVID-19 suggesting some benefit to wearing non-N95 mask. One of those studies found all three HCWs who became infected with COVID-19 didn’t wear face masks. Besides the problems with being underpowered, this study didn’t run a multi-variable regression to control for confounding variables such as time spent with the patient and involvement in aerosol generating procedures.
Apologies if this was posted already.
FDA lists hand sanitizer brand(s) that should not be used.
We just had an experience of being “shamed?” for wearing masks. I found a Craiglist ad for replacement chicks I could buy (see my post on the Say It Here thread) and it turned out to be a lady we knew years ago via our ponies. We went there to pick up the chicks, got out of the car, and were met with “Oh, you’re mask people! I’m not.” I used my typical explanation that we’re super careful because we’re concerned about 92 year old FIL and was quickly met with, “I have a 90+ year old mother here too, but it’s all a hoax and they’ve been lying to us.” She went on, but I directed her to the chicks to try to move on.
I wouldn’t put it into the taunting realm, but H remarked after we left that if she were a business person we’d never be going there again even post Covid with the way she tried to shame us.
Turns out the chicks she was claiming were the specific breed I want weren’t that breed. She’s just reselling, so she likely had no idea. We’ve had the breed for 20+ years now with several chicks. No, the chicks she had weren’t just a color variation. The color doesn’t even match her Craiglist ad. She had to have taken the pics from the internet.
We took the time and went there for nothing - during a time when we’re supposed to be isolating to be sure we don’t take Covid to FIL next weekend. I made an exception because I thought replacements would at least help me feel better. Instead, big disappointment all around, esp with being stolen from this morning to start my day. My depression level for today is up there about 9 or 10 and it’s usually around a 1. (sigh)
@roethlisburger, if you were on an IRB, would you personally believe that the right posture was to start with the belief that cloth masks do nothing? In other words, you think the best hypothesis, given our current very imperfect information, is that masks do nothing? That is the hypothesis that you think best fits the data, such as it is?
Then you personally would never wear a mask except when it was mandated.
I’m doing just the opposite. I reported a non mask wearing front desk clerk to Hilton corporate.
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_2871842e-b4d6-11ea-afd8-afec0b0df5aa.html
So, recent outbreaks tied to young people in illegally large groups have been isolated. One group of 20 or more cases are tied to graduation parties for a private school in late May and early June.
Makes me SMH. What is worse - the dimwittery or the privilege?
There was another, far larger party that attracted nearly 600 people more recently in a commercial STR. We won’t know the fallout from that for some time. The fire marshall broke up the party, which had been advertised on social media.
Commercial STRs here have been a bit of a scandal because they have a sweetheart deal that made the hotel industry furious. Turns out that one of the brokers for this STR used to work for a city council person while they were working on these STR rules. Makes you wonder…
I’m thinking of that meme of a cat filing its claws.
Meanwhile, our state (LA) had its largest day of positive tests since April. New Orleans only had 35 new cases though so something worse is going on elsewhere.
My neighbor told us she reported a local Dollar General store cashier to headquarters, due to asking her why she wasn’t wearing a mask when all customers were, and according to a sign on the door, it was store policy. The cashier berated her (older, at risk due to other health issues too, senior citizen) on top of just answering the question by saying it was too bothersome and she didn’t care.
None of us on our road will be going to that Dollar General again - esp when there are two others close enough to go to instead. Same neighbor went to one of the others afterward and told us it was a totally different atmosphere. Fortunately, she called headquarters to praise them too. She wanted the Powers That Be to get some positive info and not just negative hoping both would filter down. Who knows if it actually does though. It could stop with the phone call for all we know.
I believe each state has their own dashboard where all that data should be provided.
I know my state does, down to the county level.
I’m interested in my state’s data than other states - where I don’t live so don’t need that information down at the granular level. But, one can easily find all that data by going to each states dashboard. For me, I get enough info from just reading the newspapers on the status of each state.
I can also see the Rt for every state on Rt live.
@TatinG, I think what you did is appropriate, if you believe that Hilton employees should wear masks or if Hilton’s policy is that employees wear masks.
The incidents I’ve read about in my FB group include things such as the following: A line of people, all masked, waiting outside a Trader Joe’s and a woman slowing her car down while driving by so that she could shout at them (and not complimentary shout outs).
Just had a nonsensical experience. I was driving through a big strip mall on my way to the grocery when four young people - two of them masked - were meandering down the lane towards a different store. They were taking their time and not trying to cross quickly. I stopped to wait and when they glanced at me, made a walking motion with my fingers. No honking, no yelling. One of them turned, lowered her mask, walked right in front of my car and yelled, “Don’t you do that or I’ll take off my mask!”
Huh? I’m in a closed car going elsewhere! I just started laughing.
Around here there’s certainly a common denominator among those we know who choose not to wear masks. Higher educational levels isn’t it.
Of course I don’t know everyone who chooses not to wear one, but the places I tend to go - that would be the grocery store and sometimes post office - it’s over 90 - 95% wearing them.
YMMV This is definitely something that appears to vary with location.
Glad to see this was indoors not outdoors. The protests were outdoors, has enough time passed that we can determine if they did/did not cause spikes in new cases? I really want to know how risky outdoor get togethers are - with “reasonable” social distancing.
I would guess it is 90 to 95 percent voluntary compliance indoors here in the suburbs too. Not outdoors-maybe 10 percent