private businesses and masks ( little diffrent take)

[RDKirk]

It seriously isn't.
It works.
If everyone wore cheap surgical masks when going out then it would slow the spread and save lives! Add in basic handwashing hygiene and it might slow the replication rate under 1.
You could have one for each day of the week, for reuse purposes. Use them for a month and then replace them.

If everyone could wear a new N-95 mask every day, it would be even better.

 

[eclipsenow]

If everyone could wear a new N-95 mask every day, it would be even better.

It might be but they're vastly more expensive, and only protect you, not others. If you're sick, wearing an N-95, you'll infect surfaces that people touch and people may then touch their face and get it.

Can I use a respirator with an exhalation valve?

Usually, yes. An exhalation valve reduces excessive dampness and warmth in the mask from exhaled breath.

The valve opens to release exhaled breath and closes during inhalation so that inhaled air comes through the filter. Health care workers may wear respirators with exhalation valves unless the patient has a medical condition (such as an open wound) for which a health care worker would normally wear a surgical mask to protect the patient. Similarly, respirators with exhalation valves should not be placed on a patient to contain droplets and prevent spread of infectious particles; surgical masks are adequate for this purpose.
Understanding Respiratory Protection Against SARS | NPPTL | NIOSH | CDC​

 

[RDKirk]

It might be but they're vastly more expensive, and only protect you, not others. If you're sick, wearing an N-95, you'll infect surfaces that people touch and people may then touch their face and get it.

Can I use a respirator with an exhalation valve?

Usually, yes. An exhalation valve reduces excessive dampness and warmth in the mask from exhaled breath.

The valve opens to release exhaled breath and closes during inhalation so that inhaled air comes through the filter. Health care workers may wear respirators with exhalation valves unless the patient has a medical condition (such as an open wound) for which a health care worker would normally wear a surgical mask to protect the patient. Similarly, respirators with exhalation valves should not be placed on a patient to contain droplets and prevent spread of infectious particles; surgical masks are adequate for this purpose.
Understanding Respiratory Protection Against SARS | NPPTL | NIOSH | CDC​

I think we've been over this before. Not all N-95 masks have exhalation valves, and N-95 masks made for medical purposes specifically do not have exhalation valves. Notice this one is explicitly marked for medical use.

Everyone should be using these, and the government should have been advised at the outset to get industry ramped up to produce them in sufficient numbers to equip everyone until a vaccine is developed.

 

[dogs4thewin]

It seriously isn't.
It works.
If everyone wore cheap surgical masks when going out then it would slow the spread and save lives! Add in basic handwashing hygiene and it might slow the replication rate under 1.
You could have one for each day of the week, for reuse purposes. Use them for a month and then replace them.

I am waiting to see if the places in my state that are may start requiring them turn out because right now it has already spread like wild fire any now.

 

[dogs4thewin]

If everyone could wear a new N-95 mask every day, it would be even better.

Does it have to be that good though?

 

[Subduction Zone]

I think we've been over this before. Not all N-95 masks have exhalation valves, and N-95 masks made for medical purposes specifically do not have exhalation valves. Notice this one is explicitly marked for medical use.

Everyone should be using these, and the government should have been advised at the outset to get industry ramped up to produce them in sufficient numbers to equip everyone until a vaccine is developed.

That is one thing that Trump could have done. He could have made federal funds available for mask production. Why did he not do that? We all know. He wants this disease to go away on its own. That is wishful thinking at best and potentially very harmful. His paranoia caused him to treat it as a personal attack against him. And as a result his responses were even less sane than other failed responses of his.

 

[RDKirk]

Does it have to be that good though?

For those who are in contact with the general public, meeting many people per day--some of which will refuse to wear any mask at all--yes.

Wearing lesser masks would always have been an option...if the government had been advised from the outset that everyone should wear one, instead of the first advice being that nobody but medical personnel should wear one. They killed the market instead of advising urgent care to make it stronger.

 

[RDKirk]

That is one thing that Trump could have done. He could have made federal funds available for mask production. Why did he not do that?

Because the medical advisors told him it was not only unnecessary but even inadvisble. If he wanted an excuse to do nothing, they handed that excuse right to him.

 

[dogs4thewin]

For those who are in contact with the general public, meeting many people per day--some of which will refuse to wear any mask at all--yes.

Wearing lesser masks would always have been an option...if the government had been advised from the outset that everyone should wear one, instead of the first advice being that nobody but medical personnel should wear one. They killed the market instead of advising urgent care to make it stronger.

the death rate is only .5 to two % so why would it need to be perfect?

 

[Subduction Zone]

Does it have to be that good though?

Not really. And that is the point. Even a bandanna is better than nothing. A mask works mainly by slowing down the breath and absorbing liquid particles. It cannot stop viruses, but viruses do not survive on their own. They need a bit of fluid to stay alive in the air. Particles that make it through the mask have been slowed enough so that they tend to fall down rather than spreading out and hitting others.

 

[dogs4thewin]

Not really. And that is the point. Even a bandanna is better than nothing. A mask works mainly by slowing down the breath and absorbing liquid particles. It cannot stop viruses, but viruses do not survive on their own. They need a bit of fluid to stay alive in the air. Particles that make it through the mask have been slowed enough so that they tend to fall down rather than spreading out and hitting others.

slowing down the breath which may be why there are complaints people cannot breathe well?

 

[Subduction Zone]

Because the medical advisors told him it was not only unnecessary but even inadvisble. If he wanted an excuse to do nothing, they handed that excuse right to him.

Again that was in regards to medical masks. And what the advisors thought that people would listen too. They know that we do have one of the more ignorant first world countries. After all we have quite a few anti-vaxxers, AGW deniers, and creationists here. That was an error of the advisors and when found to be incorrect the right action would be to change course. Not to hold on to refuted ideas. Trump had an excuse at the beginning. That excuse rapidly evaporated.

 

[Desk trauma]

slowing down the breath which may be why there are complaints people cannot breathe well?

No, that's just people whining.

 

[Subduction Zone]

slowing down the breath which may be why there are complaints people cannot breathe well?

That appears to be psychological and not reality. Tests on people show that there is no significant dip in O2 levels due to masks, unless you already have a significant preexisting condition, and even that is questionable:

"Do Masks Cause Low Oxygen Levels?

Absolutely not. We wear masks all day long in the hospital. The masks are designed to be breathed through and there is no evidence that low oxygen levels occur. There is some evidence, however, that prolonged use of N-95 masks in patients with preexisting lung disease could cause some build-up of carbon dioxide levels in the body. People with preexisting lung problems should discuss mask wearing concerns with their health care providers. There is absolutely no scientific evidence that mask wearing or physical distancing weakens the immune system."

From the Frontlines: The Truth About Masks and COVID-19 | American Lung Association

 

[Subduction Zone]

No, that's just people whining.

I have mild COPD. I could probably claim a "condition". Now I don't like wearing a mask when shopping but I do not feel any lack of oxygen. I am not going to threaten others because "I know that I don't have the vid". Knowing that it is largely psychological makes it easy.

Besides that I have some of these bad boys on order:

 

[RDKirk]

the death rate is only .5 to two % so why would it need to be perfect?

The death rate is 100% in people who die. Nobody knows for certain before contracting the disease whether or not he will die, particularly those of us over 60. So we might possibly want to take the best precautions possible in whatever situation we may have to be in.

 

[dogs4thewin]

The death rate is 100% in people who die. Nobody knows for certain before contracting the disease whether or not he will die, particularly those of us over 60. So we might possibly want to take the best precautions possible in whatever situation we may have to be in.

Well, but then again by the logic of the death rate is 100% in those who die well yeah there is not a soul on this Earth who is immortal. I will be 29 next month and while I do not go in crowded places and do not just go everywhere in my local town and nor do my mother or sister I have concluded a long time ago that I am not immortal therefore I am not really all that too worried about what ends up getting me because something will. Does not mean I am not careful or do not seek medical treatment when I am sick, but it does mean that I am certainly not freaking out about getting something that has that low of mortality rate. Not that I want it either ( although I kind of want the anti-body test when it becomes free.

 

[RDKirk]

Well, but then again by the logic of the death rate is 100% in those who die well yeah there is not a soul on this Earth who is immortal. I will be 29 next month and while I do not go in crowded places and do not just go everywhere in my local town and nor do my mother or sister I have concluded a long time ago that I am not immortal therefore I am not really all that too worried about what ends up getting me because something will. Does not mean I am not careful or do not seek medical treatment when I am sick, but it does mean that I am certainly not freaking out about getting something that has that low of mortality rate. Not that I want it either ( although I kind of want the anti-body test when it becomes free.

I'm in my late 60s. The mortality rate is not low for people in their late 60s. My wife has additional comorbidities--the death rate is even higher for people in her situation.

Sixty percent of people over 60--most of whom also have comorbidities--are still in the work force, necessarily coming into contact with the public. The death rate for such people is very high. And they still have do deal with people who refuse to wear masks.

 

[dogs4thewin]

I'm in my late 60s. The mortality rate is not low for people in their late 60s. My wife has additional comorbidities--the death rate is even higher for people in her situation.

Sixty percent of people over 60--most of whom also have comorbidities--are still in the work force, necessarily coming into contact with the public. The death rate for such people is very high. And they still have do deal with people who refuse to wear masks.

My family does not usually wear masks unless asked to do so, but when asked we do not have issues complying; although in our cases that has proven one way to get us in and out of somewhere awfully quickly because we know the quicker we get out the sooner we can remove the mask.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

I wonder if this will work better than mandatory wearing

Metro shops and stores offering discounts to mask wearers

Basically, some businesses are beginning to offer DISCOUNTS to people willing to wear a mask into their stores.

I thought grown-ups were supposed to behave and use common since. And set a good example to kids and teens. So teens and kids behave and learn common since. What an embarrassment some people our displaying. Oh never mind the top leaders of the USA is helping the situation.