Ol_Ag_02 said:

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ac04 said:

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while that is a great idea, i'm going to go out on a limb and say that it may be too late for that to have a positive impact on our ability to contain the virus in the US.

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Are we talking masks now? Sure I'm game until this blows over.

Are we talking masks forever? Then no, I'm not going to live my life like I'm in a Beijing Airport.

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This.

Reading all the posts on here, there sure seems to be quite a few that can't seem to see that this WILL PASS. Maybe 1 month, 6 months or 2 years, it will pass. No, we should NOT get to a point where we make these procedures "the norm". The real goal is to adhere to these procedures to shorten the duration. Think Sherman's March through the South, or the Allied Bomber campaign in WWII. Do you want a long drawn out war that really costs more lives or a more quick albeit brutal but actually overall less costly and shorter war. Once this is over, there will really be no need for masks, gloves, SiP or any of this. Masks are never going to look 'normal" out in the regular, non medical world, nor should they. But for a very short time, sure, whatever.

I have mentioned this before, I'm an at risk person. My parents are too. So are my in-laws. I can see the need for a short term drastic set of restrictions to a point. But I do think that we need to be careful what we blindly ask for with all of this. Having apps to tell on our neighbors might be ok short term, but must be accompanied by strong limits on what a governing body can and can't do and have a time limit as well. Otherwise we do run the risk of there becoming a police state type of result none of us want. Again, the push is for this to be a very short term, get this over with mentality. Not a "new norm" lets get used to this sort of thing.

Just my 2 cents.

k2aggie07 said:

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Left: A conductor checks to see if potential passengers are wearing required masks in Seattle, in 1918. Right: A mask is worn by a street sweeper in New York in 1918. The admonition of the New York Health Board to wear masks to check the spread of influenza epidemic was: "Better ridiculous than dead."

From here.

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But I think I look tacky when I wear my mask with my boler hat! It's ok though with my top hat.

medical professional said:

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To clarify- these surgical masks offer no protection

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k2aggie07 said:

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But, they probably do offer some protection

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people citing their sources said:

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Yah good point. here ya go:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/risa.13181

I work in the safety industry. The vast majority of masks are absolutely made in China. 3M has ramped up production domestically because of this factor.

Passing through Johannesburg saw lots of guys wearing Buffs pulled up over their mouth and nose.

That guy is an assistant professor, not a reporter.

MiMi said:

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Quote:

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there's no reason why we shouldn't be wearing cheap procedure masks in public

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Serious question - where can we purchase these masks (and not prevent medical professionals from getting what they need)?

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Amazon.

Apparently China bought all there was in the Czech Republic and is now selling them back to folks. If they did it there they likely did it here and all across the globe.


When this is done there needs to be a serious investigation into amazon and it's relationship with the Chinese.

There is so much Chinese counterfeit garbage on there it isn't funny

And what does that do for our terrorist and criminal behavior that relies on seeing people's faces.

Let's hope this is the start of the much needed walk back

cone said:

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Let's hope this is the start of the much needed walk back

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If this is part of the plan to reopen things, I'll do it.

Tmoneyag99 said:

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And what does that do for our terrorist and criminal behavior that relies on seeing people's faces.

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This has been brought up on this thread earlier, none of the pro-mask crowd answers. But I'll give it a shot.

I figure that it will just be the "cost of a doing business"( healthy society). If more bad guys get away with more bad stuff, then so be it. At least that's how I think they would answer.

That being said, as the OP said, "public places" is the key phrase here. I just don't see me going forward doing a sales presentation to my customers, with me wearing a surgical mask. Put me at the other end of the table, whatever it takes.

You are not ready for this cone, be sitting

One-Eyed Fat Man said:

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Passing through Johannesburg saw lots of guys wearing Buffs pulled up over their mouth and nose.

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I pulled mine out from my fishing gear the other day and started wearing it if I have to go out in public. A few people gave me some weird looks but a couple asked about where i got it. I just tripled it up, figure it was better than nothing.

lol

let's do both

I'm pretty convinced that if everyone wore these for awhile, combined with distancing and hand washing we could start considering opening more things up.

it is 100% better than nothing

nothing is nothing

Still pointless without washing your hands and not touching your face after you take it off.

twk said:

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I'd be happy to wear a mask out in public until the crisis abates, or when it flares up again, if it will allow us to get back to work. Might be a little awkward at times in my profession (lawyer), but it beats sitting at home. Of course, getting one right now is an issue.

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Amazon delivery says May - June 8. I think we will have to make our own.

Ahh. Didn't think about it the other way

k2aggie07 said:

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Flip the script. It's not about protecting you, it's about protecting others.

There's a high degree of transmission here that may be occurring by people who don't know they're sick.

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Yep. Seems fairly universally accepted that even just a surgical mask is highly effective im catching the virus being expelled by a sick person.

If everyone wore them, you'd think we'd really knock down the transmission speed of this thing.

So to play this thought experiment out, how many people would need to wear a mask and for how long for it to have an impact?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5779801/

From the article
In conclusion, there is a limited evidence base to support the use of masks and/or respirators in healthcare or community settings. Mask use is best undertaken as part of a package of personal protection, especially including hand hygiene in both home and healthcare settings. Early initiation and correct and consistent wearing of masks/respirators may improve their effectiveness. However, this remains a major challenge both in the context of a formal study and in everyday practice.

Basically we don't really know, but it seems like it should work. Haha.

Based on forum 16, good luck with compliance.

how hard would it be to wear a bandanna or DIY a mask out of a vacuum bag?

are we really going to throw up our hands and say we'll since I can't get it made for me I guess I'm just gonna not do it?

That's exactly what most of our society will say.