Re: Masks
 

Masks not mandatory here.
All shops in the local shopping centre were open today, hairdressing and barber shop staff wore masks, staff in food and clothing shops, newsagents etc weren't wearing them.
I'd estimate around 10% of shoppers wore masks, all except a few oldies respected social distancing.
In a private hospital over the past week, the only staff member I saw wearing a mask was a doctor performing a medical procedure. However, all people entering the hospital including medical staff were screened (temperature taken and reason for attending asked and responses recorded). Each patient only permitted one designated visitor for the duration of their stay, and it had to be the same visitor.
There were two sets of buttons in the lifts, one for staff and one for the public (not sure how that was policed!)
Nearly all venues now only accepting card payments.

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Digital fingerprints. If you are not authorised to press a staff button, it fails to recognise you and

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I started keeping my N-95 mask in a paper bag in the van, so I can put it on before going into a store, then put it back after. When I remember to I use the end of a pen to poke my pin number in.

Re: Masks
 

UK Gov has now published advice on how to make a mask using an old t-shirt. Should be an interesting few months of 'maskies' being uploaded to Instagram.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavir...e-one-11986567

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Washable, has a filter pocket, $10. Part of me wants it and says get in touch, and part of me says "heat score, no".

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...0594e0e8ae.jpg

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That'd fill up the ED :lol: There didn't appear to be anything different about the 'staff only' buttons, no ID card reader etc, but I probably missed something.

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Scouse wears one and keeps it in the car too. I bought a couple of N95 masks in preparation for 'the holiday that wasn't', he's kept one and we gave the other one to my mum.
I'm seeing fewer masks when out and about, not that there were that many being worn anyway. I'm probably worrying unnecessarily but Western Australia seems to have got off very lightly, which makes me wonder when the other shoe will drop. Out of our 552 confirmed cases 536 have recovered and 9 have died. Of the remaining 7 active cases, 4 are in hospital and 1 in ICU. I just hope people aren't getting too complacent.

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A handy article on how to make face masks without sewing https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...ewing-required

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^^ This.

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I read a funny thing saying that a Face Mask is the new Bra. Nobody wants to wear one, they are uncomfortable and we get it off asap, but if you aren't wearing one it stands out...

I know that they are de rigueur now so I am sporting one, but they really do steam your glasses up.

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Whereas if you don't wear one, someone else's glasses may get steamed up. :ohmy: :lol:

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Masks seem to = its okay to be closer to people you don't know, at least what I am seeing around Vancouver anyhow.

I do think masks give people this false sense of security at times, and then of course the ones who cover only their mouth leaving those nose out which at that point may as not even wear a mask.

Re: Masks
 

this is my feeling as well. I think a lot of people view mask wearing as a short cut to returning to normal and are therefore putting social pressure on others to wear them.

As I believe many of our chief public health officials have said, wearing a mask is not a substitute to social distancing, I suspect this is why they have not become mandatory.

Also some people cannot wear them for medical reasons.

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If the science is proving that masks help stop the spread of this virus then why aren't Politicians pressuring their respective Governments to make the wearing of them outside MANDATORY?

How can people get upset about others not wearing them if there is no mandatory requirement? Granted even if made mandatory there would be a small % who still wouldn't wear one but like everything else in life the vast majority would comply.
Yes social distancing is also helping out a great deal but with lockdown's being gradually lifted have you seen the pictures of public transit in many countries lately with or without masks. Impossible to police on certain modes ie the Tube, Metro but doable on others as they can limit the numbers getting on a plane or a bus in most cases.

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Wearing, or not wearing, a mask is a political act, part of Trump's "culture wars" and so best not discussed here.

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BC Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry won't be requiring people to wear masks, and several companies while asking customers to wear them wont deny service if people choose not to.

"I really don't believe we should be requiring it," said Henry during her daily briefing on Tuesday afternoon.

"There are many reasons why some people cannot wear a mask, a face covering — people who have certain respiratory illnesses, it can be very challenging and can cause breathing problems," she said. "

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...asks-1.5567026

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This sock mask turned out well.

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:thumbup:

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That's hilarious :rofl::rofl:​​​​� ��​

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That's cracked me up. :rofl:

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"Since the world's first epidemic, we’ve built treatments for various infectious diseases. Yet, our understanding of disease transmission, and the mechanisms behind it, have not advanced much from the 19th century days of Louis Pasteur. Lydia Bourouiba, Disease Transmission Scientist, explains that, to uncover remaining secrets behind disease transmission, we must leverage advances in fluid dynamics and biophysics. Lydia and her team are unveiling the mechanics behind airborne disease transmission, revealing how pathogens travel from a point source (the mouth), into the air, and eventually through ventilation systems, hospitals, airplanes, and more. Through advanced mechanistic modeling, Lydia can tell us how to prevent disease outbreaks before they occur. Watch her TEDMED 2018 Talk to discover how we can make better life or death decisions to reduce the spread of infectious disease."


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...wBIrMXLJkAAmzo

FINDINGS: Live influenza virus was measurable from the air behind all surgical masks tested. The data indicate that a surgical mask will reduce exposure to aerosolised infectious influenza virus; reductions ranged from 1.1- to 55-fold (average 6-fold), depending on the design of the mask.

CONCLUSION: We describe a workable method to evaluate the protective efficacy of surgical masks and RPDs against a relevant aerosolised biological challenge. The results demonstrated limitations of surgical masks in this context, although they are to some extent protective.


"To mask or not to mask"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycf6bAMKgjg&fbclid=

Re: Masks
 

I live in Austria. We are required to wear masks in shops, public transport, in any public area indoors. I have no problem wearing one. It protects others from my droplets and I'm protected from others droplets. Every bit helps even if the mask is not ffp2 standard. We mainly wear hot washable, reusable masks, disposable masks and some wear ffp2 masks. Have you tried to blow out a candle when wearing a mask? Try. Even a homemade double layer cotton mask is not useless. Of course you keep a safe distance too.

Re: Masks
 

As I read from somewhere “I wear my mask to protect you. You wear your mask to protect me.”

I wear a homemade mask in the grocery store and Costco. Here at least I’d say 50% of shoppers do the same. All the Costco staff were masked up.

Re: Masks
 

Here it's all over. I went to Loblaws and the liquor store. No sign of social distancing nor masks at either. The LCBO staff wear welder's face shields but no one else was wearing PPE. Lots of people were out and about mingling. It's quite frightening and will, I assume, soon be followed by a call back to work. I think I'm in a strong enough position to say "no" and carry on as now and, anyway, I can live if they dump me, but most people are not.

Re: Masks
 

Why is Canada being so lax about preventive exposure, i.e. mandatory masks? Here in Mississippi, US, no mask, no entry.

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Because nobody wants to make the decision about them becoming mandatory and then being called bad names for doing it. Not all can wear a mask so they would be discriminated against if a mandatory Govt order came into effect. Certain stores or others businesses won't let you in without one which is their prerogative Sort of like why isn't the UK screening airport arrivals and making them quarantine for 14 days???

https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/18/fligh...ning-12574861/

I am OK with it being mandatory and OK with it not being mandatory and OK with using my own discretion as when to wear it.

Re: Masks
 

Every province does things differently just as US states do things differently.

Here in BC the method being done seems to be working and the stats show it.

Mississippi- 11,296 cases & 521 deaths per the state website.

BC- 2,407 cases & 140 deaths.

Considering Mississippi, is a smaller population 2.9 million vs 5 million here in BC, not sure the precautions being taken in MS are effective.

I'd say if the spread is contained without making masks mandatory, no point in making them mandatory, and as the provincial health officer said, not everyone can wear them, not everyone is comfortable wearing them, or have other reasons, and there is no indication making them mandatory at this point will do much.

The federal government did make masks mandatory when flying though.

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I have taken to wearing one made of black cotton (washable). I feel like this guy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lo...gr_n3Wa9lPC2IY

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:lol: I just ordered a five pack of plain black ones, and now I’ll have the music in my head whenever we need them! Hiho Silver!

Re: Masks
 

I understand about the provinces, after all I'm married 22 years to a Canadian and still have all his family there in NS and Quebec. It is the same as the US with the States but I have never heard that some people can't wear them? For what reason can they NOT wear them? Doesn't go with their daily outfits? No one is comfortable wearing one. I know neither my husband nor myself are but we do wear them.

As for MS have more cases, I will be called a racist but it is more blacks in MS have contracted the virus than whites. Why? Because they do not social distance. They do not wear masks. If they do wear a mask to go to the store, their children don't.

The black family across of us have company each and every weekend with up to 7 cars in their driveway and lawn. The black family on the corner also have mass parties on the weekends with about the same amount of cars. No one in either group is wearing a mask. No one is social distancing. The kids are playing together on the street sharing bikes and battery operated cars, etc. No masks. They don't take it seriously or think they have immunity.

I have not had company in my house since March 15th. I have not had my daughter or 3 grandkids here nor have I been there other than to drop off groceries at their door and I leave.

Also consider that MS is a retirement state, much like Florida because of the climate. Many of the retirement homes here have experienced multi-deaths.

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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXVddQhV...jpg&name=small

https://www.businessinsider.com/anti...ditions-2020-5

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I bought a reusable cloth mask, a smaller company in Vancouver, seems as more places like stores and making them mostly mandatory, and need one to get a haircut now, seemed prudent to buy one.

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If they cut one of the ear loops when cutting your hair, don't forget to sue.

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We're lucky here in Regina; quite a few people are making them and selling them on kijiji and varagesale for $5.

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My sister wants one in BC, and they seem to be thin on the ground there, and some of the people at work want one, so I'm buying another 4 today.

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I ordered mine from this place in Vancouver on Granville Island, can't speak for the quality as I have not yet gotten it, but Amazon didn't have anything worth buying, and I did find some on Old Navy website but they looked way thinner, so went with this place instead.

Vancouver Aquarium was selling masks as well, theirs looks pretty nice, and supports a good cause, but the demand was so great, anything ordered now wont arrive til like June or July.

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You don't have to scroll down far before hitting masks for sale here: https://www.varagesale.com/regina-sk...items-crafting

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Re: Masks
 

Lemme quote that for you, removing the cloak of invisibility.

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Weird that isn't it. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. At least it appeared. After a refresh.
Clicking at the top plays it on a new tab/page so there is that. :fingerscrossed: