Coronavirus

[nebo113]

I finally bought a box of masks, as I can't wash my two clothe masks frequently enough.  I keep the box in the car.

[apl68]

I've found that you can wash "disposable" masks at least a couple of times without damaging them.

Had conversations with the staff today about what to do now that we have a state mask mandate.  Now that we've got the Governor backing us up, we can go from pleading with patrons to wear masks to requiring them to.  I've let them know that if somebody gives them trouble over it, to come get me and let me put them out.  Likewise if somebody claims exemption from the mask rule on grounds of poor health.  In that case I plan to suggest to the patron that they might take advantage of our curbside service, since if you can't breathe with a mask on you REALLY don't need to be exposing yourself to COVID-19 in public.

[Caracal]

Re: Masks

I am really good about wearing masks. My loved one insists that I do and supplied me well. As things are, I do not stay out more than 4-5 hours a day, in the daylight time exclusively. Do I need to wear a new mask each day? Do they dry out or air out due a period of time and become refreshed, and thus safe to reuse, maybe?

While within range of the subject of oscular activity, should we? Other related possibilities?

This isn't based on any science, but...
I rather strongly suspect that the difference is very marginal. It wouldn't be if you were working in a hospital, or coming in lots of prolonged contact with a lot of people. I just have a mask in my car on the passenger seat, or sometimes in my pocket, and put it on when I go inside somewhere other than my house, which is rare these days, or when I'm going to be somewhere near people outside in an environment where I don't know for sure I can control distance between me and other people. I find the masks pretty annoying, so I take them off once they aren't necessary. I'm pretty bad at remembering things, so I've decided just not worrying too much about it is the way I can have a mask with me and wear it. Once every few days I remember to bring the mask in the car inside and wash it and replace it, and when I find one wadded up in my pocket I do the same. I'm pretty confident this is fine.

[science.expat]

I don't agree with this. Part of the function of masks is to decrease the viral load that reaches your nose and mouth. They do this by intercepting the aerosols and droplets transmitted by others and hence the virus accumulates on the outside of your mask. Touching this increases the likelihood of that concentrated virus being transmitted to your face - and reusing a mask without cleaning it increases the likelihood of you touching the outside of the mask with its ever increasing viral load.

[Economizer]

I recentlly bought a bag of store brand cough drops at a deep deep discount store. On several occasions, I popped one into my mouth while wearing my blue fabric[?] mask. Each time I did this, I immediately experienced burning gaseous sensations that hindered my talking and my thinking for a few moments. A lawyer pal said I should post about this. I don't know why because he seemed to be on the "requiring the masks by governmental units is OK" side of controversy. With him though, he's probably seeking a "truth" or something. And that, may well be true.

[nebo113]

https://reason.com/2020/07/18/what-happens-when-a-professor-is-unable-to-finish-teaching-a-class-due-to-covid-19/

[Caracal]

I don't agree with this. Part of the function of masks is to decrease the viral load that reaches your nose and mouth. They do this by intercepting the aerosols and droplets transmitted by others and hence the virus accumulates on the outside of your mask. Touching this increases the likelihood of that concentrated virus being transmitted to your face - and reusing a mask without cleaning it increases the likelihood of you touching the outside of the mask with its ever increasing viral load.

Right, but I think you're missing the larger point. Sure, in some marginal way, but I would be doubtful this is going to significantly increase risks. It might, if I was spending lots of time in close contact with other people indoors, and if I was, I would be getting a new mask every day. However,  I probably came within six feet of anybody else in the last week three times, all for less than 5 seconds and I was indoors in a place outside my house once, for probably ten seconds.

More broadly, I think one of the dangers of giving people too many instructions is that you make something seem too difficult. The alternative to me keeping a very lightly used mask in my car, is getting somewhere and realizing I've forgotten to bring a mask. Ditto on all the stuff about being incredibly careful to avoid touching the mask. I just take it off. Again, I'd do this all differently in other settings. If I end up teaching class in person, for example, I'd bring in new masks every day and wash my hands before and after taking off a mask.

[Caracal]

https://reason.com/2020/07/18/what-happens-when-a-professor-is-unable-to-finish-teaching-a-class-due-to-covid-19/

I continue to find this angle  perplexing. Professors are unable to finish classes all the time because of illness. We don't need a continuity of operations plan, because we don't work at a nuclear power plant. Everything can be worked out on an ad-hoc basis. The emergency plan would be the same as this ad-hoc plan. If it was early in the semester, you might try to replace someone who couldn't teach anymore. The options are pretty obvious; grad students at the institution, grad students at another institution, and people who you know might be looking for adjunct work. If it's later in the semester, other faculty would probably do it, either alone or together. If everybody is so sick that the whole operation can't function than who the hell cares. It can all be figured out later because it still isn't a nuclear power plant.

[spork]

I recentlly bought a bag of store brand cough drops at a deep deep discount store. On several occasions, I popped one into my mouth while wearing my blue fabric[?] mask. Each time I did this, I immediately experienced burning gaseous sensations that hindered my talking and my thinking for a few moments. A lawyer pal said I should post about this. I don't know why because he seemed to be on the "requiring the masks by governmental units is OK" side of controversy. With him though, he's probably seeking a "truth" or something. And that, may well be true.

I can't tell if you're being serious or what you're getting at. Cough drops often contain menthol or eucalyptus. That's what you're smelling. The mask is creating a slightly higher concentration of these compounds in the air next to your mouth and nose than you're used to. If you smeared pure eucalyptus oil all over your face and in your mouth, then you might poison yourself whether you put a mask on afterward or not. At the concentrations found in cough drops, it's totally harmless.

[Vkw10]

https://reason.com/2020/07/18/what-happens-when-a-professor-is-unable-to-finish-teaching-a-class-due-to-covid-19/

I continue to find this angle  perplexing. Professors are unable to finish classes all the time because of illness. We don't need a continuity of operations plan, because we don't work at a nuclear power plant. Everything can be worked out on an ad-hoc basis. The emergency plan would be the same as this ad-hoc plan. If it was early in the semester, you might try to replace someone who couldn't teach anymore. The options are pretty obvious; grad students at the institution, grad students at another institution, and people who you know might be looking for adjunct work. If it's later in the semester, other faculty would probably do it, either alone or together. If everybody is so sick that the whole operation can't function than who the hell cares. It can all be figured out later because it still isn't a nuclear power plant.

I've been looking at these new requirements as a veiled acknowledgment that upper level admin is expecting  a significant percentage of faculty to be too sick to teach for a month or more. I'm curious about the percentage they're contemplating; five, ten, fifteen? My dean asked chairs to update and share their lists of potential replacements, in case the chair is incapacitated and dean has to find replacement for sick faculty.

[Caracal]

https://reason.com/2020/07/18/what-happens-when-a-professor-is-unable-to-finish-teaching-a-class-due-to-covid-19/

I continue to find this angle  perplexing. Professors are unable to finish classes all the time because of illness. We don't need a continuity of operations plan, because we don't work at a nuclear power plant. Everything can be worked out on an ad-hoc basis. The emergency plan would be the same as this ad-hoc plan. If it was early in the semester, you might try to replace someone who couldn't teach anymore. The options are pretty obvious; grad students at the institution, grad students at another institution, and people who you know might be looking for adjunct work. If it's later in the semester, other faculty would probably do it, either alone or together. If everybody is so sick that the whole operation can't function than who the hell cares. It can all be figured out later because it still isn't a nuclear power plant.

I've been looking at these new requirements as a veiled acknowledgment that upper level admin is expecting  a significant percentage of faculty to be too sick to teach for a month or more. I'm curious about the percentage they're contemplating; five, ten, fifteen? My dean asked chairs to update and share their lists of potential replacements, in case the chair is incapacitated and dean has to find replacement for sick faculty.

I think you're overestimating the amount of thought going into this sort of thing. When you are dealing with uncertain situations, there is lots of pressure to "prepare." Nobody is out there estimating what percentage of faculty are going to be incapacitated, it is just that administrators read something or have some thought and then make everyone do some thing so nobody can say they weren't prepared. If a chair was sick, I'm sure some other faculty member would take over and they would be equally capable of finding a replacement. 

[Economizer]

I recentlly bought a bag of store brand cough drops at a deep deep discount store. On several occasions, I popped one into my mouth while wearing my blue fabric[?] mask. Each time I did this, I immediately experienced burning gaseous sensations that hindered my talking and my thinking for a few moments. A lawyer pal said I should post about this. I don't know why because he seemed to be on the "requiring the masks by governmental units is OK" side of controversy. With him though, he's probably seeking a "truth" or something. And that, may well be true.

I can't tell if you're being serious or what you're getting at. Cough drops often contain menthol or eucalyptus. That's what you're smelling. The mask is creating a slightly higher concentration of these compounds in the air next to your mouth and nose than you're used to. If you smeared pure eucalyptus oil all over your face and in your mouth, then you might poison yourself whether you put a mask on afterward or not. At the concentrations found in cough drops, it's totally harmless.

I was trying to make the point that thicknesses or material of masks and/or the potency of things, scents or gases, for example, might impair folks at times during their day. Therefore, for many, it is important that they have flexibility as to when and where they can go without wearing one.

Also (I don't want to go too far into paranoia on this), these masks seem to come from all over the world. They are not listed as "J" list items. Thus, if they are not of U.S. Origin they should be individually labeled as to their C. Of O. That's in U.S. Customs regs. As for fabric/material composition, that may come under FDA regs. which have an entirely different schedule of notice, procedures, and classification that compliment U.S. entry of certain goods into the commerce of the United States. All this for good reasons.

[namazu]

Therefore, for many, it is important that they have flexibility as to when and where they can go without wearing one.

Yes, if your breathing is too impaired to wear a mask safely and consistently, then you should certainly have the flexibility to stay home / away from other people while you are so impaired.

[ciao_yall]

I recentlly bought a bag of store brand cough drops at a deep deep discount store. On several occasions, I popped one into my mouth while wearing my blue fabric[?] mask. Each time I did this, I immediately experienced burning gaseous sensations that hindered my talking and my thinking for a few moments. A lawyer pal said I should post about this. I don't know why because he seemed to be on the "requiring the masks by governmental units is OK" side of controversy. With him though, he's probably seeking a "truth" or something. And that, may well be true.

I can't tell if you're being serious or what you're getting at. Cough drops often contain menthol or eucalyptus. That's what you're smelling. The mask is creating a slightly higher concentration of these compounds in the air next to your mouth and nose than you're used to. If you smeared pure eucalyptus oil all over your face and in your mouth, then you might poison yourself whether you put a mask on afterward or not. At the concentrations found in cough drops, it's totally harmless.

I was trying to make the point that thicknesses or material of masks and/or the potency of things, scents or gases, for example, might impair folks at times during their day. Therefore, for many, it is important that they have flexibility as to when and where they can go without wearing one.

Also (I don't want to go too far into paranoia on this), these masks seem to come from all over the world. They are not listed as "J" list items. Thus, if they are not of U.S. Origin they should be individually labeled as to their C. Of O. That's in U.S. Customs regs. As for fabric/material composition, that may come under FDA regs. which have an entirely different schedule of notice, procedures, and classification that compliment U.S. entry of certain goods into the commerce of the United States. All this for good reasons.

Even places with strict mask ordinances would allow someone to remove it briefly if they wanted to catch a breath.

Geez, people...

[spork]

Therefore, for many, it is important that they have flexibility as to when and where they can go without wearing one.

Yes, if your breathing is too impaired to wear a mask safely and consistently, then you should certainly have the flexibility to stay home / away from other people while you are so impaired.

Yeah. If pulmonary function is already so badly compromised that you can't wear a mask in public, then you shouldn't be wandering around in public, because infection + comorbidity = far greater chance of morbidity.