Covid-19 pandemic

I'm very sorry Wrecked. My condolences.

Well, my test came back negative, so I guess I'm in the clear.

In the last 30 days my citys active cases fell from 4209 to 459 and our hospitalization fell from 28% to 4.5%...

brokentulsa wrote:

In the last 30 days my citys active cases fell from 4209 to 459 and our hospitalization fell from 28% to 4.5%...

That's great news!!

In my area we are now heading rising numbers and there is now talks of stricker resctrictions.

My close area is the most calm area in whole country. I live in a small town in the "bushes", but overall situation is getting heated.

My area is holding steady. I am quite jealous of the states that have dropped the mask mandates.

Missouri never had a mask mandate; the governor left it up to local municipalities.  My county never had one either but St. Louis Co., the next county over did.  But most business in the state require a mask to enter anyway so almost everyone wears a mask regardless of the local rules.  Over the summer I used to always see several people in grocery stores not wearing masks but ever since Covid got serious again in the fall I haven't seen anyone maskless. 

I don't really mind donning a mask that much in a public space but when I hear certain areas of the country requiring a mask when doing stuff like working outside in your own yard I call BS.  Or wearing a mask in your car - that's total BS.  But putting on a mask when I'm indoors with strangers just makes sense to me.

If the masks work, why are there so many cases in places that had mandates?
If they don't work, why are they mandated?

The box that the N95 mask comes in (the better option according to experts) states it offers no viral protection. So what effect does a piece of paper or cloth actually have?

In the past, procedure was to isolate the sick, protect those most susceptible, and let herd immunity run it's course. With WuFlu they isolated the healthy, put sick people with those most susceptible, and mandated policies that did nothing to stop the spread of anything. Why the change in procedural approach to the quarantine process?

A small business got shut down, but hundreds were allowed to go touch merchandise and pass money at Walmart and other big corporate businesses, why?

I don't think wearing a mask does a damn thing to protect you.  I think the idea is that it provides a physical barrier to reduce the amount of aerosol you can put into the air that other people might breathe in.

I will be glad to dump the mask. Between it not protecting me and people not wearing them correctly, I do not think they are effective.

Yeah you do have to wear them correctly for them to have any effectiveness as a barrier.  I see lots of people only covering their mouths so they're still breathing out droplets.

tohostudios wrote:

I don't think wearing a mask does a damn thing to protect you.  I think the idea is that it provides a physical barrier to reduce the amount of aerosol you can put into the air that other people might breathe in.

Yeah. Mask protects the other people, not you. But the masks are not protecting if you don't use them right.

I use mask always when going to public places, shops, libraries, to photograph people - even it is pain in the rear end while working with your camera, because using mask is blurring the viewfinder all the time. I use the mask mainly as a sign that I respect other people. I also keep the save distances, no hand shaking, no hugs, no any near contact... aaargh I hate this time we are living.

Devin's Child wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I don't think wearing a mask does a damn thing to protect you.  I think the idea is that it provides a physical barrier to reduce the amount of aerosol you can put into the air that other people might breathe in.

Yeah. Mask protects the other people, not you. But the masks are not protecting if you don't use them right.

I use mask always when going to public places, shops, libraries, to photograph people - even it is pain in the rear end while working with your camera, because using mask is blurring the viewfinder all the time. I use the mask mainly as a sign that I respect other people. I also keep the save distances, no hand shaking, no hugs, no any near contact... aaargh I hate this time we are living.

I agree with you - using the mask is respecting others. I do think the requirements should end. I know some want this to be the new normal but masks do funny things to our brains when we look for nonverbal queues (similar to zooming all the time)

At this point, wearing a mask should be a personal preference. Most masks are not the N95 protection anyway...

The majority have been wearing the masks to simply comply with the government mandate, but it’s mainly just a superficial visual thing. Almost like a placebo pill. People mentally perceive that they are safer. Not many have raised the issue of how unhealthy it is to constantly have a mask on and breathing in carbon dioxide. Humans are not designed to have masks on the face.

Yeah I wouldn't want to wear one 8 hours a day in an office setting but I do think wearing one when doing something like grocery shopping benefits those around you.  Assuming you actually wear a mask properly (as in over the mouth AND nose) then I believe it does help keep you from spreading anything to other people.  And as I said before, wearing a mask does absolutely nothing to protect you though.

To me it just makes sense, like coughing into your elbow when you have a cold.  We've heard that forever.  Wearing a mask is the same concept; the idea is to keep you from spreading your germs to other people and I feel ANY kind of physical barrier between your mouth and nose and the rest of the world helps keep you from spreading your crap to other people.

I personally don't get the respecting of others by wearing the mask? We never did it for influenza. Covid is more dangerous than flu, but statistically they both have similar mortality rates.

I have over a 99% chance of surviving WuFlu, but 100% of the time... Breathing in CO2 depletes white blood cells and compromises your immune system. That science is proven. The experts seem to change their minds weekly regarding WuFlu and I don't have confidence anything is being approached 100% medicaly, but rather politically. That is never going to benefit anyone.

tohostudios wrote:

Yeah I wouldn't want to wear one 8 hours a day in an office setting but I do think wearing one when doing something like grocery shopping benefits those around you.  Assuming you actually wear a mask properly (as in over the mouth AND nose) then I believe it does help keep you from spreading anything to other people.  And as I said before, wearing a mask does absolutely nothing to protect you though.

To me it just makes sense, like coughing into your elbow when you have a cold.  We've heard that forever.  Wearing a mask is the same concept; the idea is to keep you from spreading your germs to other people and I feel ANY kind of physical barrier between your mouth and nose and the rest of the world helps keep you from spreading your crap to other people.

Sure... if anyone knows they have the flu (of any strain or variation), they should wear a mask to reduce chances of spreading a virus. But it’s better if they just stay home if they are sick. Don’t even go out in public! Same with employment environments. Stay home!

Except young people with Covid often have no symptoms and have no idea they could spread it.  Hence the masks.

tohostudios wrote:

Except young people with Covid often have no symptoms and have no idea they could spread it.  Hence the masks.

I am almost 56. Never showed any symptoms, but tested positive for the anti-bodies. Which in course influences herd immunity. The media states anti-bodies and it's correlation to here immunity for WuFlu subsides over time, why is that? It never had with other viral diseases, regardless of it being a blood of airborne pathogen.


Classic Hegelian Dialectic in action

Viruses will come and go as long as humans exist. We can’t live in fear and have a muzzle on all the time. I do think “social distancing” should remain. Along with better hygiene practices.

F*ck the masks! Unless someone personally chooses to use them. Some people seem to like the look of them as a fashion accessory, or the anonymity of covering their face in public...

I caught it now. My wife got tested today due to small temperature in the weekend and it was positive. I also started to feel like coughing today, maybe partially because I heard about the test results. But I'm pretty sure I have it as well, and it's only just starting...

When I tested positive back in Sept. I didn't show any symptoms at all. Not even a fever. It's weird how it affects people differently.

When we had our "scare" last month, my daughter's fiance tested positive yet initially showed no symptoms (he later said it felt like a mild head cold). Now all of us came into close contact with him and had to get tested. Not one of us came back positive. So either it's not as transferable as they're stating or he got a false postive and the head cold just happened to creep in on him. And if it was a false positive, just how many more false positives have there been?

Take it with a grain of salt?

The CDC released a statement saying there is only a 1.3% difference in WuFlu cases in places that had mask mandates and those that did not. That difference is within the margin for error.

The same CDC is not tracking influenza cases and deaths this flu season, so make of it what you will.

Good points above. 

I just continue to wear a mask in public spaces because I've gotten used to it and it's not hurting me for the 15 minutes to an hour I have it on. Plus I have a have a Godzilla mask.