I would disagree with this statement. The purpose of the mask is to protect others from your own “droplets.” If you are a mouth breather, the mask does it’s job even if it is not covering your nose. Even if you are breathing through your nose, those breaths don’t project as far as those coming out of your mouth. I am not recommending wearing a mask without covering your nose. Just saying it is not completely worthless. My wife has a lot of trouble keeping it over her nose. I am constantly telling her it is falling off her nose. I want to put a dab of glue on her nose and the mask!
We live in NC and a mask is now required. We wear a mask when we go inside any building that is not our home, like a store or an office.
That’s actually not correct. I deal with the mask and medical accommodation issues in my work constantly and there are a number of very legitimate medical reasons why some people can’t wear masks that have nothing to do with them being at higher risk if they catch the disease. PTSD is one of them. Those conditions DO exist, and you are correct, perhaps those people should protect themselves by not being out in public. However, there are other reasons which are very valid. It is up to the public place or the employer whether they feel that accommodating the no-mask request is an undue hardship or puts others at an unreasonable risk. Then you get to defend the lawsuit or EEOC charge for not accommodating the request.
That is not the purpose, but I understand what you are saying; it is unfortunate because I am genuinely curious whether mask wearing is really as contentious and divided as some media portrays.
My D refuses to wear a mast, she hangs out at the beach, she travels in a pack, she does not SD etc.; she has a chronic immune disorder, yet she remains healthy (I hope, for community sake, she’s not asymptomatic)
We are due to go to family today and the guidelines are: gather outside, bring your own food & bev., be gloved and masked at all times when not consuming, keep 10’+ apart and don’t touch anything. I think it is ridiculous overkill.
I find that mask wearing slips some- even with me- when you are with people with whom you feel comfortable and familiar. Yesterday after our running group run (which really spreads out) we were all standing around talking for a bit and eating popsicles. No masks and not all that far apart.
SoCal, I wear a mask and cloth gloves, whenever I go to drugstore, grocery or Costco. I am at-risk, so I limit how often I go out. I pick up curbside and get GrubHub deliveries.
I make masks for first responders for free. I have mailed out masks all over the country. There are three large organized face mask groups in our county with ~5k seamstresses, who are sewing for first responders, the deaf community, military, and clinics.
At my daughter’s med school, the students are receiving their education online, but have also been disbursed to hospitals throughout California to help the beleaguered staffs. I make the masks, in my daughter’s honor because I know she’s exhausted after each shift. She is receiving help from others and since We can’t see her, I think of her while I sew at home.
I have been wearing a mask since March. I always wear a mask in indoor public spaces (ex. stores) and I limit my shopping to typically once a week at small local stores.
When I go for walks in my suburban neighborhood it is usually easy to self-distance but I always carry a mask just in case. I have seen my parents and a couple of friends outdoors with no masks but we are sure to self-distance 6+ feet.
The only people we allow in the house for visits is our children – this is a risk H & I have decided we are willing to take (and we feel that they have all been acting responsibly).
I don’t think people think that. They are probably just taking a break. I do that sometimes. I looked more closely today when I went out. As far as I can see, everyone was wearing a mask covering both nose and mouth. No need to get overly critical.
I don’t think there is any value whatsoever in wearing gloves. Any virus that can survive and be transmitted on the surface of the skin on the hand is also going to remain on a glove – and people are far more likely to wash their hands frequently and/or use hand sanitizer when not wearing gloves.
It’s different in medical contexts- where the providers change gloves between each patient & scrub their hands before putting on the gloves.
MA here in an area that was hit hard. SIP for many months. Very few cases in MA now. I rarely go in stores ( maybe 6 times since Feb). In person I have a mask will wear in town when passing folks. On the beach I don’t/ wont wear a mask. I’m asthmatic can wear a mask for about 30 seconds to 2 minutes. That’s it.
So people that are clueless and block sidewalks when standing around/passing annoy me.
To the people who think everyone can wear a mask , try breathing through my lungs.
I don’t get angry with non mask wearers ( I just wait and avoid them)
Honestly unless it’s an N95 mask, it’s pretty worthless. Good thing is, even the cloth/disposable kind keeps people thinking of the 6 feet. It also keeps sneezes and coughs down.
I see about 65-80% of people wearing a mask
No, not really. The only time would be if I can get a quick break to drink a glass of water. Usually I just put the straw under the mask. I’m a circulator, so I have to be available if the surgeon needs something. If they don’t get a break, I don’t take one either.
A Facebook friend posted a photo of their family get together yesterday. 30 PEOPLE, ranging in age from very young to very old. Grouped very closely together for the photo. Not a single mask. There were also a lot of other photos and nobody was social distancing or wearing a mask in any of them. They live in Iowa. Our friend is a manager in a food plant. I don’t get it.
^^ I walked last night in the early evening and would have easily run out of fingers and toes to count similar gatherings. Or at least gatherings 10+people. I do not recall seeing any masks.
When you have a small number of people - let’s say five or less - as guests you can keep track of their “touches” a little better. Who knows what people have touched or the space they have visited inside or out when you have more?
But it’s clear that many, many, many people felt these were risks they were willing to take for a 4th of July party. Or they feel they are no risks.
It’s in the 90’s here - and many other places. I’m a mask wearer but have no interest in going to a function -even outdoors - with a mask for an extended period of time.
We wear masks - and don’t wear masks. Hot CA climate.
We have been actively social distancing since the first week of March (saw the news reports, I also remember SARS). Sports and school were cancelled/moved off-campus/online by the second week of March.
We wear masks around others at all times; family has social distanced as much as possible. I do the grocery shopping almost exclusively. We don’t wear masks in the car or walking outside, except when we see others approaching and can’t distance 12 feet. We don’t wear masks when there is no one else around. Fresh air is needed for health.
In the suburbs where we live, we are not always seeing masks, even with neighbor’s kids playing. They are outdoors and it is very hot.
Also sewing reusable fabric masks for charity here. I worried that there would be no use for them by now; should have worried that there still would be.
^What’s up with California? I thought they did everything right, unlike GA, TX or FL. CA locked down early and didn’t open early. And yet they are seeing a surge. It may be just the natural course not what we did or didn’t do.
Metro Detroit area. Always wear a mask inside stores or other public buildings, including when I pick up carry out. I don’t really do anything socially these days, so not much other than getting food or necessary medical appointments. I don’t wear one when I walk, because I don’t walk anywhere where social distancing is an issue. We have a cottage on a small island, and everyone is good about social distancing while chatting outside.
On the way to our cottage this weekend, I was washing my hands at a rest stop. A young girl of 10 or 11 came out of a stall. Not only was she not wearing a mask, but she was not wearing shoes. Ewwwww!!! She washed her hands for a couple seconds & left. No adult in sight … at a highway rest stop. Wrong on so many levels.
WIsconsin here. My family is consistent about wearing mask when we are indoors outside our home. Though things are fairly open here now we try to stick with outside outings as much as possible. We’ve eaten out a couple of times, but only at places that have outside seating. Spend a ton of time walking our “pandemic puppy” and people are pretty good about distancing in most cases at parks and in the neighborhood.
However, while we are still wearing masks, I am noticing a definite decrease in mask wearing overall the last couple of weeks. I would say it’s maybe 50/50 at the grocery store and pharmacy. I went to a small privately owned grocery store yesterday to grab something and I was the only person, including staff, who was wearing a mask. At this point I’m trying not to judge a lot. I just figure we are all doing what makes us comfortable. I’m still comfortable wearing one indoors around strangers but hate it so I don’t go out much!
I was in Illinois this week for a day to visit my Dad who has been in the hospital. Stopped at a Walgreens and every single person was wearing a mask. I was also super impressed with how almost every restaurant had gotten creative with outdoor space. There were lots of huge tents in parking lots, etc. I wish that was happening here.
I’ve been wearing a mask and gloves since mid-March if I need to get gas or go to the store. I had two boxes of gloves, but did not have sanitizer, so it was just easier. Plus home is 45 minutes from many stores I would go to, it’s nice to peel off the gloves and feel free to touch my face. I do use a sanitizing wipe after removing the gloves. In WA state, and my county, masks are mandated, but there was pretty good compliance in most areas around me, pre-mandate. There is one farm town where people are more anti-mask and when I went there to buy something (car pick up) it was obvious that the attitude was different there.
We do not wear masks in our home with our adult children. We started out remaining apart, over time, we have evaluated and determined to enlarge our circle and not wear masks. We have one health care worker kid who did mask initially, but then has done C19 testing before visiting, after testing negative we did not mask together. But we are not seeing anyone else and if any of the adult kids see others, we then wait before seeing each other.