Coronavirus in Massachusetts (crimes, homes, calculation)

[msRB311]

I could see wearing one on a train or a plane...that's about it. I am surprised that someone who is vaccinated would continue to wear an N95. I have a bunch of N95s at my house and DH and I did wear them in the beginning. I guess we've relaxed a bit and yes we're vaccinated.

[bizcuit]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

Individual towns are imposing the mandates themselves. I know Salem has one going into effect on the 23rd.


I actually prefer this over a statewide mandate. It makes more sense for a large urban city than it does for a small farm town

Northampton instituted a new mask mandate indoors for all businesses, starting on August 11th.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

It's uncomfortable as hell. And overkill if you ask me...literally trying to guard against the odd chance of me, as a vaccinated person, picking up enough of a viral load through fleeting exposure?

I do own some KN95 masks, which I've worn on airplanes. But these days for when I go into retail? It's the blue surgical masks.

That's like using a condom with a hole in it. Why would you bother? It's just a placebo. If you're going to wear a mask to protect yourself, you want to wear the best mask. For the few hours per week I'm indoors doing retail, I can wear an N95 mask. I also have a really high quality ski helmet, high quality bicycle helmet, I wear a high end inflatable life vest on the boat, etc. If I'm doing something to protect myself, there's no point in skimping.

[BostonMike7]

While i agree that N95's are world's better than the blue/cloth masks, wearing an N95 when it's 90 degrees out sucks. I sweat profusely, the mask gets nasty and i start pulling it up and adjusting it and overall break the seal rendering it useless when i'm breathing around the edges vs the mask. But i also really haven't gone anywhere where i felt I needed one due to the environment or the people I have been around. I have a minor surgical procedure next week, so i'll likely wear one into the hospital for that.



I know i've mentioned it a while back, but my team did some research in mask performance (and alternate mask materials) early in the pandemic for the local medical community. I don't bother with explaining our results any more, but over the last year as peers/family discovered what I did, they've asked for my opinion. What i've ultimately discovered is that showing people data, photos of my test setups, and my conclusions does little to change opinions at this point. People have already formed their opinions on masks and don't want their opinion to be changed. These days, when the topic of masks comes up in my social setting, I keep my mouth shut and just sip my drink. I'm done.

[rach5]

Australia is now finding outdoor transmission of delta amongst kids...https://www.skynews.com.au/australia...d1acd83138f684

[OutdoorLover]

I know that some people are skeptical, but I have read quite a few papers in respected journals on the benefits of mask-wearing for limiting Covid-19 exposure - some look at modeling results, some look at lab results, interestingly one compared viral particles on the inside vs outside of masks worn by infected individuals, and still others look at regional effects of mask mandates on local populations.

While masks don't provide a guarantee against infection, they're useful, even cloth masks, and especially if worn by both the infected and susceptible persons. Even in cases where they still allow some passage of viral particles from one person to another, they reduce the likelihood of successful transmission of disease, as studies show that for Covid-19, just as for other viruses, the number of viral particles transferred significantly affects the likelihood of successful disease transmission.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by rach5

Australia is now finding outdoor transmission of delta amongst kids...https://www.skynews.com.au/australia...d1acd83138f684

You always bring the good news huh?

[in_newengland]

I don't know the difference between surgical and medical masks, if there IS a difference. Did a lot of reading and they recommend a surgical mask under a good cloth mask. It's supposed to be good enough for the average person who goes into a store for a little while. The box of masks I bought several years ago is labelled procedural masks and I think they are probably useless for Covid (Blue one on side, white on the other, feel like paper.)

But I can't find "surgical" masks. So I bought "medical" masks. I can't tell if they are different from the procedural masks. They look exactly the same. It says they are made of some melted material and that sounded good to me. They cost more though. Made in China, it turns out. Anybody got any info as to what they are talking about when they suggest double masking using a "surgical" mask under a cloth mask?

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by in_newengland

I don't know the difference between surgical and medical masks, if there IS a difference. Did a lot of reading and they recommend a surgical mask under a good cloth mask. It's supposed to be good enough for the average person who goes into a store for a little while. The box of masks I bought several years ago is labelled procedural masks and I think they are probably useless for Covid (Blue one on side, white on the other, feel like paper.)

But I can't find "surgical" masks. So I bought "medical" masks. I can't tell if they are different from the procedural masks. They look exactly the same. It says they are made of some melted material and that sounded good to me. They cost more though. Made in China, it turns out. Anybody got any info as to what they are talking about when they suggest double masking using a "surgical" mask under a cloth mask?

When double-masking, the outer layer not only provides further barrier, it helps improve the seal against the face of the mask underneath. The N-95 medical grade masks form a good seal on their own, plus they have quite fine filtering. Some argue that coarser pores are useless, but this isn't really true. You don't have naked viral particles - they are always entrained in small mucous droplets across a spectrum of diameters - because the respiratory tract is all lined with mucous membranes. Further, even if the little mucous droplets can fit through pore openings, many of them will be trapped anyway, because if they touch the mesh threads, they will stick to them; multiple layers make for a more tortuous path and greater occlusion. Finally, note my earlier comment about the quantity of virus actually transferred mattering - if it's small, then the probability of the recipient developing an infection is actually small as well - that's well established and isn't unique to Covid-19, btw. Masks don't need to be perfect to provide useful protection.

If you're double masking with a cloth mask over a surgical mask, I think you are fine in most environments. The worst environment would be indoors, with many different people, and poor air circulation, for a considerable length of exposure - why? Because as noted, the dose you actually receive matters, and in that environment, you're bound to be breathing the air expelled from multiple infected individuals, and there isn't sufficient circulation to clear out or dilute the contaminated air, so if you're breathing in for an extended period of time in that setting, you're highly likely to get a dose sufficient to cause disease.

[rach5]

Originally Posted by msRB311

You always bring the good news huh?

It does seem like it. No worries, the CDC will catch up in two-three months
In other news, Gov. Abbott tested positive today. He has been tested daily, has no symptoms and is already receiving Regeneron. https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/17/polit...-19/index.html
What the f*** is wrong with this country. Will some of these people eventually be tried for crimes against humanity??