Mask Off – F*ck It – Mask On
Our new normal is wearing masks. Just a few days ago, I wrote about mixed messages and people not wearing masks because the formal consensus was that they were not necessary. Days later, the news is you’d better wear your masks! Irritating, but I’ll take it in the interest of public safety.
That’s how we roll in the Pandemic Age! Flip-flopping like dying fish. Mask off… fuck it, mask on.
We Didn’t Need Them?
One day, we aren’t wearing them because someone like the US Surgeon General says it is not necessary for whatever fucking reason. Really?
Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!
— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) February 29, 2020
They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!
https://t.co/UxZRwxxKL9
Oh, wait, yeah, we did…
The next day (or 28 days later ?) they’re telling us we should have been wearing them all along.
Why would the Surgeon General claim “masks” are “NOT effective,” when CDC says COVID-19 is spread mainly “through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes” which “land in the mouths or noses of people nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.” pic.twitter.com/VdY1yKhJk0
— Laurence (Larry) Boorstein (@LarryBoorstein) March 24, 2020
You don’t have to tell me twice!
At first, I was collecting the links to share with my friends and family out of concern. I was concerned because they get their cues to act from the news. Or from the government. If a higher authority isn’t recommending they do something, they do nothing.
What have we learned from all this?
Perhaps wearing the N95 medical-grade masks is best left to the professionals. That is: the nurses, doctors, first responders, EMTs, etc, people who actually need them. Unless you’re personally caring for a known infected individual around the clock, you’re fine wearing the cloth masks*.
The fancy masks they use in hospitals are called ‘Respirators’ (the most common rating is ‘N95’). You don’t need one of those to protect you – they’re only needed for certain hospital procedures.
— Jeremy #Masks4All (@jeremyphoward) March 25, 2020
You just need a basic mouth & nose cover, and goggles or glasses for your eyes. pic.twitter.com/y3KG8fFjlt
*post-pandemic update: We know now that isn’t necessarily true since the truth was the N95 shortage, so the powers that be tried to discourage the public from stockpiling the N95 masks. Facts are that unless your cloth mask is made to include a filter insert, it’s not going to be effective. In the end, get hospital-grade protection and call it a day…
In the interest of information saturation ?…
I have collected instructions for making your own masks — and why you can’t just use any old fabric.
- How to Sew a Face Mask – NY Times PDF
- Using Blue Shop Towels for Homemade Face Masks 2x to 3x better than cotton – Business Insider
- No Sew Mask – Marketwatch.com
- How to make your own coronavirus facemask (collection of videos/guides) – LA Times
- No Sew guides for facemask with kerchief – NY Post
Educate yourself.
Stay safe, friends. These are trying times. Don’t fall prey to misinformation. (see *update* note above)
The COVID Diaries — Read the Complete Series:
- The COVID Diaries — Day 7
- The COVID Diaries Day 10
- The COVID Diaries Day 34 — The Epiphany
- COVID Diaries Day 200 — New Habits, New Normal?
- The COVID Diaries Day 669 — What is this Life?
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