Required to wear a mask after April 9, 2021? (homes, buses)

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

Asians have been wearing masks when they're sick for years. Presumably they know the masks work or they wouldn't still be doing it. Doctors wear masks when they perform surgery so they don't infect the patient. You can extrapolate from there and deduce that wearing a mask assists in not spreading germs.

Wearing a mask to prevent the spread of viruses after exhibiting symptoms is too late. And with much of the pre-screening, exhibiting symptoms (or admitting), will prevent you from boarding planes.

In Asia, many of the mask wearers (pre-COVID) were wearing masks to mitigate pollution. Remember when China health warnings warned about excessive pollution and visible “cloudy” air necessitated mask wearing. Other countries too but the last Olympics held in China in 2008 saw lots of mask wearers and some advocated moving the marathon out of Beijing due to poor air quality.

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by MaricopaCountyResident

I was in California in January. On the flight to Burbank, it was not really enforced on how you wore your mask. One guy had it below his nose, and nobody said anything. I had mine worn properly because I did not want any issues. I was surprised in California, nobody told me to lift my mask above my nose. However, in the northeast, I heard they tell you all the time to wear it properly.
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On airplanes, the types of “approved” masks have changed over time. Last summer on Southwest, one counter agent said You could not wear the N95 yet on the plane, a guy was wearing a fitness mask with a vent. Nothing was on Southwest website on which masks are prohibited.

This spring, on other airlines, vent masks are widely prohibited along with the neck gaiters. Some wear a real mask yet wear the neck gaiter over their mask; for appearance maybe? Wearing a mask on four hour flights can get painful on the ears if wearing the wrong mask, many are shifting to the shear, thin fabric for comfort. Thinner appears to be better.

Surprised there are no comments about the discrepancy between coach and first class. First class get full service food and drinks which of course reduces mask time. Remember airlines stopped beverage carts (in coach) and even snacks for health reasons?!? On United flights, if you’re in first class and “working on a drink”, then no mask is required. No off and on game. Many are all saving elbows from no beverage carts rolling down aisles but don’t lie about it. Just say it’s a cost solution for airlines and permits stewardesses to now relax on flights.

[MisterEd51]

All this talk about wearing a mask or not misses one point. The biggest unknown is how effective any particular mask is. How can you judge the effectiveness when there is no standard to define an effective mask? It is possible that a lot of people are getting a false sense of security when their mask is simply ineffective.

[writerwife]

And a mask is only as good as it's user for the wearer (not others nearby). If a mask is touched on the outside, moved on and off the face and back on again, reused, etc.... it's pointless. In a medical facility they are not touched while worn and they taken off in a certain way as to not touch the outside surface, immediately dropped into trash or laundry. I see people all over pulling the mask down to say something or breath or take a sip and then pull it back up. Toss on the car seat and then put back on in the next place they go. If indeed the virus was on the outside of the mask you just spread it all over.

[pathrunner]

That brings to mind the statements about the virus being air born rather than surface spread. I don't know about everyone else, but I finally hit my limit after a year and some. So tired of talking, thinking, dealing with this issue, but we must.

[dfwmia]

I've complied with all the rules even if I didn't believe it would do any good. As of about 1 month ago, I've finally had enough and am just flat out not wearing a mask going to stores, even if there is a sign that one is required. So far, no one has said a thing or even looked at me funny. I'm thinking I'm not alone anymore as over 50% of customers had no mask in a Walmart I was in a couple of days ago. I think every person can look at the death and hospitalization rates and decide for themselves their course of action. There's risk in everything. Getting in your car and driving down I-65 has elements of risk just like eating McDonald's every day has an element of risk.

It's not going to bother me when I see people wearing one, I'm just personally done.

[OmarLittle]

Originally Posted by writerwife

And a mask is only as good as it's user for the wearer (not others nearby). If a mask is touched on the outside, moved on and off the face and back on again, reused, etc.... it's pointless. In a medical facility they are not touched while worn and they taken off in a certain way as to not touch the outside surface, immediately dropped into trash or laundry. I see people all over pulling the mask down to say something or breath or take a sip and then pull it back up. Toss on the car seat and then put back on in the next place they go. If indeed the virus was on the outside of the mask you just spread it all over.

That would apply to infectious diseases that are spread by touching surfaces (like viral gastroenteritis or hepatitis A). It also applies in situations where one risks bacterial contamination of an open wound (like an operating or emergency room). Respiratory viruses are less commonly spread by contaminated surfaces, and COVID-19 is almost never transmitted that way. So, if you're working in a nursing nome or hospital where there are patients with hepatitis or diarrheal diseases, it's important to be careful about what you touch (including your mask). But if you're wearing a mask to protect yourself or others from COVID-19, surface contamination is not very important.

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by MisterEd51

All this talk about wearing a mask or not misses one point. The biggest unknown is how effective any particular mask is. How can you judge the effectiveness when there is no standard to define an effective mask? It is possible that a lot of people are getting a false sense of security when their mask is simply ineffective.

Previously when the topic shifted this much, the term used was hijacked. The original thread was seeking comments on how businesses would respond to the state’s expiration of the mask mandate.

However, trying to provide increased awareness to your question above, there are numerous studies on testing mask efficacy. There are mask standards when you have actual masks. Cloth gaiters, exercise devices, and homemade cloth coverings are not masks. Thus they have no standards. By design, engineering design, masks are to protect the wearer. 3M spends millions in R&D to protect wearers from hazards vs protecting the wearers from their environment. The N95 mask has a vent just to exhale, which is why it’s banned on airplanes.
NIOSH performs lots of performance testing for masks and here is one of many examples:
https://www.aiha.org/news/niosh-upda...series-filters

In short, if you have no established mask standard, then you can’t “define an effective mask”. And as others have pointed out, how the mask is worn, touched frequently, worn around chin, used for days vs hours; are all negative factors when applying mask performance criteria. So when you see drivers hanging their masks from the mirrors, know the incubator effect is not helping keep masks sanitary.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by johnsonkk

Wearing a mask to prevent the spread of viruses after exhibiting symptoms is too late. And with much of the pre-screening, exhibiting symptoms (or admitting), will prevent you from boarding planes.

In Asia, many of the mask wearers (pre-COVID) were wearing masks to mitigate pollution. Remember when China health warnings warned about excessive pollution and visible “cloudy” air necessitated mask wearing. Other countries too but the last Olympics held in China in 2008 saw lots of mask wearers and some advocated moving the marathon out of Beijing due to poor air quality.

The Winter Olympics will be next February in Beijing. Given their filthy air, that seems irresponsible by the Olympic committee. I suppose a lot of activities will be out of town or indoors, but they could at least choose some place with clean air. Going somewhere else might convince them to clean up their act. Politics at work.

[MisterEd51]

Originally Posted by johnsonkk

Previously when the topic shifted this much, the term used was hijacked. The original thread was seeking comments on how businesses would respond to the state’s expiration of the mask mandate.

You're saying I hijacked a thread that I started