A Mask Mandate is NOT a law

Unprotected...a cough travels as much as 12 feet.

With a bandana...3.5

With a better mask...mere inches

 

That applies for people who might get sick, sure.
But when you manufacture additional consequences, like fines, you're coercing the decision. It'd be like saying making abortion illegal doesn't violate women's body autonomy because they can still choose to get one illegally, they'll just have to face the 'consequence' of jail. Which is, of course, lunacy.

 

The kind of person endangering society today are the young people congregating in the streets, not the one-off person not wearing a mask pretty much alone, who people can make a wide-arc to distance as they pass by.

In his press briefing today, Gov. Cuomo called the NYC kids congregating at "bars and restaurants" and not wearing masks "stupid". He flashed some pictures to show who he is referring to. Cuomo called them "Partiers". I didn't see drinks or food, but they are definitely congregating. If the "congregations" continue, Cuomo says he will roll back the reopening of bars.

Cuomo: Young partiers congregating at "bars and restaurants" are stupid and wreckless.

I've personally never been to a bar or restaurant located in the middle of a city street before, without tables, chairs, drinks, or food, but New York has a different culture.

 

I changed to bandanas, too, since Summer started. I've just gotten to where I tie a bandana around my neck in the morning before leaving the house. They aren't as hot as all other compliance options and it's 100 here now almost daily, with heat index over 100.

 

ANYONE not wearing a mask around others is a danger ...because they may have gotten the virus from those young folks you seem to hate...or from other mask haters...

 

It might if people wore their bandanas like that. They don't. They wear them like this:



Will this matter to you? (its from the CDC)

"Face Masks In our systematic review, we identified 10 RCTs that reported estimates of the effectiveness of face masks in reducing laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infections in the community from literature published during 1946–July 27, 2018. In pooled analysis, we found no significant reduction in influenza transmission with the use of face masks (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.51–1.20; I2 = 30%, p = 0.25) (Figure 2). One study evaluated the use of masks among pilgrims from Australia during the Hajj pilgrimage and reported no major difference in the risk for laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infection in the control or mask group (33). Two studies in university settings assessed the effectiveness of face masks for primary protection by monitoring the incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza among student hall residents for 5 months (9,10). The overall reduction in ILI or laboratory-confirmed influenza cases in the face mask group was not significant in either studies (9,10). Study designs in the 7 household studies were slightly different: 1 study provided face masks and P2 respirators for household contacts only (34), another study evaluated face mask use as a source control for infected persons only (35), and the remaining studies provided masks for the infected persons as well as their close contacts (11–13,15,17). None of the household studies reported a significant reduction in secondary laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infections in the facemask group (11–13,15,17,34,35). Most studies were underpowered because of limited sample size, and some studies also reported suboptimal adherence in the face mask group. Disposable medical masks (also known as surgical masks) are loose-fitting devices that were designed to be worn by medical personnel to protect accidental contamination of patient wounds, and to protect the wearer against splashes or sprays of bodily fluids (36). There is limited evidence for their effectiveness in preventing influenza virus transmission either when worn by the infected person for source control or when worn by uninfected persons to reduce exposure. Our systematic review found no significant effect of face masks on transmission of laboratory confirmed influenza.

We did not consider the use of respirators in the community. Respirators are tight-fitting masks that can protect the wearer from fine particles (37) and should provide better protection against influenza virus exposures when properly worn because of higher filtration efficiency. However, respirators, such as N95 and P2 masks, work best when they are fit-tested, and these masks will be in limited supply during the next pandemic. These specialist devices should be reserved for use in healthcare settings or in special subpopulations such as immunocompromised persons in the community, first responders, and those performing other critical community functions, as supplies permit. In lower-income settings, it is more likely that reusable cloth masks will be used rather than disposable medical masks because of cost and availability (3. There are still few uncertainties in the practice of face mask use, such as who should wear the mask and how long it should be used for. In theory, transmission should be reduced the most if both infected members and other contacts wear masks, but compliance in uninfected close contacts could be a problem (12,34). Proper use of face masks is essential because improper use might increase the risk for transmission (39). Thus, education on the proper use and disposal of used face masks, including hand hygiene, is also needed."

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/19-0993_article
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/pdfs/19-0993-combined.pdf

Did the agency or governing body that instituted your mask mandate take any action to ensure that you and everyone else knew how to fit, use and dispose of them properly?

Mine didn't.

 

So your complaint is not about masks...but that people don't "wear them correctly"?

Then rail about THAT

And oh by the way...once deflected like you describe...that infected breath does NOT travel the 12 feet that wit would otherwise...

 

150,000 Americans died from covid and that is over 3 1/2 months. Many more will die over a year, many times more of them if there was no lockdown or social distancing, and many times more of that if hospitals were overwhelmed. As a comparison the Hong Kong flu killed 34,000 Americans, 0 Americans died from Ebola, 1 American died from Zika, and the Swine Flu killed only 12,000 Americans. And this was over a much longer time period with no lockdown measures.

 

My complaint is the mandate is BS. If they were interested in preventing infection, they would be mandating that people use the right masks safely and effectively as described by the CDC in my previous post. But instead its just 'oh, wear any ol' thing any way you want, as long as you wear something.' Which means its just a mandatory exercise in virtue signaling and conformity.

 

The shame of the whole thing is that it has to be mandated. And even then, there are to damned many yahoos who will defy it and damned be the consequences to those they infect. And just to be clear, the masks give little protection to the wearer. It is protection for the people they encounter and in a perfect world the penalty for willfully spreading infection, which you do if you do not where a mask in public, would be both severe and swift.

 

So you are fine with sending someone to the hospital? And that says what about you?

 

Why is there no penalty for wearing an ineffective mask? Who is protecting us from folks who don't know how (or refuse) to mask up properly? A loose fitting bandana draped over the face isn't restricting much if anything, which is why so many people do it- more comfortable to breath. They might as well be wearing no mask at all, yet they are in compliance with the mandate. Also people who don't sanitize or change their mask. They're basically collecting everyones exhalations and passing them around. Shouldn't they be stopped from infecting people?

And I almost forgot- the N95 with the exhalation valve. Surely I don't need to explain the problem with that... but its in compliance too.

 

Trump has a new campaign manager. He just decided that masks are cool and patriotic.

 

Just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

 

What aboutism is your argument? And that is the best that you can do?

 

Great.

Now all of the RW can wear one.

Wouldn't want to make Trump mad.

 

Its not an argument. Its questions.

 

Just because I'm a person of color?

 

What it looks like is you're willing to put others at risk.

 

So why is there a mandate to wear masks, but no mandate to wear the right masks in a safe and effective manner? One isn't much good without the other.

 

You can try to sue them later (and on that basis, you'll likely win), but you can't forcibly stay there when asked to leave. I mean, you could, but you will be removed by the police (likely arrested). Its worth noting that this is a popular form of civil dissobediance/protest. Much of the gains of the civil rights movement employed this strategy.

 

You've seen evidence that even a bandana is effective...and yet you continue with your nonsense.

You know better and just don't care.

Apparently you want this crap to go on indefinitely

 

Because it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the mask should cover the holes in your face.

That's kinda the point...whether you like it or not and whether you believe it or not