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+--- Thread: Anyone Else Getting Sick of This COVID Crap? (/Thread-Anyone-Else-Getting-Sick-of-This-COVID-Crap)
Anyone Else Getting Sick of This COVID Crap? - LevelUP - 07-05-2020
In hindsight, as far as all the deaths are concerned it appears that Americans killed themselves by not wearing masks early as they did in Asian countries.
If this COVID battle is like being a war, and masks are like body armor why not do everything you can to keep yourself safe? This is what we do with wearing safety belts in cars. Sure you could say body armor won't help you if you step on a land mine or a grenade gets thrown at you or many other things.
So everyone in the U.S. including myself can share the blame for this crisis we still have in the U.S. We all should have been screaming at the top of the lungs for everyone to MaskUp.
I'm getting sick of:
- restricted travel, local places that are open
- no sports
- having to worry about getting my friends/family members sick
Is anyone getting sick of this? Are masks stupid? When and how do you think this will end?
RE: Anyone Else Getting Sick of This COVID Crap? - ss20ts - 07-05-2020
I'm beyond sick of this nonsense. As someone in a state who has a governor in a pissing contest with the president, it's become complete political BS. Yes, people got sick. Some died. The governor also sent sick nursing home patients into the nursing homes from the hospitals. Guess what happened? Thousands died. Nursing home patients and their care givers got sick as well. It's been an absolute nightmare in nursing homes which are filled with people who are sick and elderly. NO one is there because they're healthy.
I'm happy that our state arks are finally opening. I just wish they opened the bathrooms. THey've brought in porta-potties instead. Now I admit I'm not the smartest person on the planet, but I'm not the dumbest either. Has anyone figured out the difference in a bathroom and a porta-potty? One has a sink with soap. One has hand sanitizer if you're lucky.
The masks are a feel good measure. Most aren't really doing anything. They're not surgical masks and they're not N95 masks. A fabric mask made by Aunt Sally isn't going to do much. It seems like things will stay this messed up until November. November 3rd may change all of this nonsense drastically. I still don't know how the virus is smart enough to not infect people at Walmart and grocery stores who are packed in like Black Friday but will infect people in a mall so the mall must remain closed indefinitely. 3 1/2+ months of shutdowns here. Many of us are over it especially since our region hasn't had many cases and almost all of the deaths were nursing home patients. The handful of deaths that weren't nursing home patients were older people who had numerous health issues already.
RE: Anyone Else Getting Sick of This COVID Crap? - rachel83az - 07-05-2020
Here in Europe, there are a lot fewer issues with Covid because more governments started mandating masks earlier than the US even suggested masks. If people had started wearing masks from the beginning, even homemade masks, there's a good chance that the disease would've been wiped out by now. So, yeah, I'm tired of it because I'm tired of hearing about the stupidity. I wish people weren't so dumb about the whole thing.
RE: Anyone Else Getting Sick of This COVID Crap? - Carnation - 07-05-2020
My family has had it twice already and we wore masks.
I have not seen anyone at the grocery store without a mask but we still got it and that was the only place we went for 3 months.
We also have autoimmune issues that make us more susceptible.
We are headed out of state to a youth conference and are hoping twice through it will be enough to give us the immunity we need to fight it off in the future.
RE: Anyone Else Getting Sick of This COVID Crap? - natshar - 07-05-2020
I heard over third of COVID deaths are from nursing homes. Don't know if that is true or not, hard to find reliable info these days. Also, I know they are calling deaths covid, when the person may have had COVID and another illness, so it is hard to say if the cause of death was actually COVID. Also apparently in some states people self report they have symptoms to the government or might have they are adding that to count as well. So idk if this whole COVID thing is a big of deal as it actually seems.
That being said, no one I personally know has gotten it so I could be totally wrong and maybe this is a big deal and am open to changing my mind. I just don't know any better because my world has not been personally affected by anyone getting it. I guess I'm lucky. The only people I personally know who've gotten it are acquaintances and they have all recovered.
Not sure if masks make a difference. I think little if any, but I just don't know for sure. Especially if people are sticking them in pockets, purses, car visors, counters, etc. Ideally you need to wash your mask or throw it away every single time. Most people aren't doing that. And if you touch things and then touch the mask, thats also not good.
Plus a mask doesn't give the excuse to be stupid. If you wear a mask but are constantly visiting different places, not following protocol, not washing your mask, and not using good hygienic like hand washing. You aren't really helping things.
I don't think masks are magical and prevent you from getting sick 100% of the time. I don't like the narrative the media is painting that masks are this magical holy thing. And I don't believe for one second that none of these protesters are contributing to up tick at all. I tried to argue against it and they say it is because they were ALL wearing magical masks and being safe so there is NO uptick because of the protests. I don't buy that for one second!!
However, I will wear a mask and follow the rules in places they are required. And everyone around me is wearing a mask, I'll wear it. If I'm wrong and they help a ton, I'd rather be safe than sorry, plus it makes others feel better.
I wish life could go back to "normal" but I don't think that is happening anytime soon. I'm a huge extrovert and miss people.
RE: Anyone Else Getting Sick of This COVID Crap? - Merlin - 07-05-2020
(07-05-2020, 12:14 PM)ss20ts Wrote: The masks are a feel good measure. Most aren't really doing anything. They're not surgical masks and they're not N95 masks. A fabric mask made by Aunt Sally isn't going to do much. It seems like things will stay this messed up until November.
(07-05-2020, 01:04 PM)Carnation Wrote: My family has had it twice already and we wore masks.
I have not seen anyone at the grocery store without a mask but we still got it and that was the only place we went for 3 months.
(07-05-2020, 01:57 PM)natshar Wrote: Not sure if masks make a difference. I think little if any, but I just don't know for sure. Especially if people are sticking them in pockets, purses, car visors, counters, etc. Ideally you need to wash your mask or throw it away every single time. Most people aren't doing that. And if you touch things and then touch the mask, thats also not good.
Plus a mask doesn't give the excuse to be stupid. If you wear a mask but are constantly visiting different places, not following protocol, not washing your mask, and not using good hygienic like hand washing. You aren't really helping things.
I don't think masks are magical and prevent you from getting sick 100% of the time. I don't like the narrative the media is painting that masks are this magical holy thing. And I don't believe for one second that none of these protesters are contributing to up tick at all. I tried to argue against it and they say it is because they were ALL wearing magical masks and being safe so there is NO uptick because of the protests. I don't buy that for one second!!
However, I will wear a mask and follow the rules in places they are required. And everyone around me is wearing a mask, I'll wear it. If I'm wrong and they help a ton, I'd rather be safe than sorry, plus it makes others feel better.
Based on the posts, it is clear that not everyone understands the purpose of wearing a non-vented mask. It has very little to do with protecting yourself and everything to do with protecting everyone else around you. You don't need N95/N99/P100 respirators to provide protection. Yes, the higher the filtration rating the better they stop small particles, but unless you work in healthcare and are trying to keep from becoming infected (in combination with goggles/face shields, gloves, and protective suits), that won't matter as much. The reason everyone needs to wear masks is to limit the opportunity for droplets and aerosolized virus particles to leave your respiratory system and enter the air around you. The secondary purpose of masks (and physical distancing) is to limit the amount of droplets and aerosolized particles you breathe in. Cloth masks only stop like 20-80% of the particles depending on materials and construction, but those are multiplicative going each way. So if your mask stops 50% of the outgoing and 50% of the incoming particles you are looking at a maximum of 25% of the particles getting to each person. If you're outside and remain at least 6 feet (2 meters) away from each other that 25% drops to nearly zero. You need a fairly high viral load to catch COVID so the idea is to reduce the number of particles you could potentially be exposed to. Obviously limiting your exposure by not staying in a potentially infected area for long is the key here.
While some people don't like this infographic since it is kind of crude, I find it funny and I think it does a good job of illustrating the point.
![[Image: 460x1240.jpg]](https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/11/66/67/19361245/3/460x1240.jpg)
In this analogy, the person on the right is an asymptomatic virus carrier and the person on the left is an uninfected person. Pants represent wearing a mask (any mask). The urine represents the virus being spread through conversation or sneezing/coughing.
FYI, wearing a vented mask offers almost no protection for those around you, which is why they should not be worn for viral protection. I have a nice 3M half-face P100 painting/sanding respirator that I was wearing before I realized this. Now I wear a cloth mask when I go out... though we haven't really left the house more than a half dozen times in the last 4 months, and then only for short trips like to take my daughter out to ride her bike or grab some ice cream.
But yes, I am getting very sick of COVID-19. We need a vaccine yesterday. I am just worried that we won't develop an effective vaccine any time soon so we'll be dealing with this for the next few years at least.
RE: Anyone Else Getting Sick of This COVID Crap? - ss20ts - 07-05-2020
Fabric masks made by Aunt Sally do not keep your germ particles to yourself. The gaps between the cotton fiber threads are too large and virus can get through those gaps. The masks really are a feel good measure. People are wearing masks and still getting the virus.
RE: Anyone Else Getting Sick of This COVID Crap? - Merlin - 07-05-2020
(07-05-2020, 06:55 PM)ss20ts Wrote: Fabric masks made by Aunt Sally do not keep your germ particles to yourself. The gaps between the cotton fiber threads are too large and virus can get through those gaps. The masks really are a feel good measure. People are wearing masks and still getting the virus.
Masks don't stop the virus (or germs as you say) but rather their job is to collect the water droplets which the virus travels in. You need a much higher grade filtration system to stop aerosolized particles, but the masks do help. They are not strictly a feel-good measure.
However, to your point, yes a poorly constructed single 1-layer mask or bandana doesn't really do much for anyone. This is why it is recommended that people make masks from 2-3 fabric layers using different materials to increase the likelihood that droplets will be trapped in the fabric. The newer masks made by commercial clothing manufacturers mostly meet this requirement and many also include replaceable filters and/or fabrics with electrostatic properties that can help trap smaller particles. We're starting to see very advanced masks being produced now, but a lot of people already have their terrible masks and probably won't replace them.
And again, to emphasize, wearing a mask doesn't stop you from getting the virus. It's main job is to help keep viral shedders from spreading the virus to other people. Its secondary job is to help protect you, but it really only works if the others around you are also wearing a mask. A mask on its own does very little. The virus can also enter via the eyes or from people touching contaminated surfaces (such as their clothes if exposed to other contaminated people) and then rubbing their eyes or touching their nose, etc. This is why healthcare workers aim to wear full protective gear that covers the body, head, eyes, and hands in addition to an N95 respirator rather than a mask. Luckily, unless you work in an area that is exposed to a lot of potentially infected people, surface contamination isn't that likely of a vector to become infected due to lower viral loads, which is why we focus more on masks and face shields when talking about public protection.
In any case, wearing a mask is better than doing nothing. Even if it is a terrible mask that only traps 10% of the droplets, that is 10% less of a chance that someone else will get the virus from you if you're infected and don't know it.
RE: Anyone Else Getting Sick of This COVID Crap? - Library2HospitalChaplain - 07-05-2020
Thank you, @Merlin. Note my handle, please. You did a good job of explaining.
I'm heading back to my studies and remote counseling for those who have no other person to talk to in this medical emergency right now. :-(
RE: Anyone Else Getting Sick of This COVID Crap? - ajs1976a - 07-05-2020
Sick of both sides turning this into a political issue and the media blowing things out of proportion.