Face Shield or Face Mask

[Lamb]

Which are you wearing out in public a face shield or face mask?

If you have some transparent folders or separators you can easily create a face shield and I think those are good for people who are a little claustrophobic.

 

[tango]

I have a buff that I pull over my mouth if needed. It's mostly ineffective but no worse than the loose-fitting things I see people other people wearing.

I'm still puzzled why so many designs use elastic that goes behind the ears. It seems they would be either too loose to be effective or too tight to be comfortable. Back in the goold old days when I could get N95 dust masks for sanding and grinding the elastic went around the head.

 

[Lucian Hodoboc]

I'm thinking about ordering a hazmat suit.

Nah, I'm just kidding. I wear a regular face mask when I go to shop for groceries from the nearby store.

 

[NewCreation435]

I have a face mask that I wear if I have to go to the store for something, but as a general rule I try not to go to the store if possible to avoid it

 

[tango]

I'm wondering whether advice to wear face coverings will still apply when banks reopen their lobbies.

 

[Lamb]

I made a face mask and I also have a "buff" as tango called it that I got when I had to cover my neck after my cancer surgery for over a year. It's really smooth but clingy so I don't like it too much to be able to breathe.

My husband has some N95 masks for when he mows the lawn and we can't donate those because he needs them or it will affect his breathing at certain times of the year.

 

[psalms 91]

I have a homemade one I wear because the governor ordered it so.

 

[hedrick]

I'm wondering whether advice to wear face coverings will still apply when banks reopen their lobbies.

I suspect for the next year it will apply to all public venues. Including kids at school. Unless there's definitive evidence that they don't do anything.

 

[tango]

I suspect for the next year it will apply to all public venues. Including kids at school. Unless there's definitive evidence that they don't do anything.

I'd regard the disclaimers that many places selling them to be reasonable evidence they aren't up to much. When a place is selling masks, notionally to prevent the spread of a virus, and their masks come with a disclaimer that it won't prevent or protect from the virus, chances are a bandana will do just as well.

 

[hedrick]

I'd regard the disclaimers that many places selling them to be reasonable evidence they aren't up to much. When a place is selling masks, notionally to prevent the spread of a virus, and their masks come with a disclaimer that it won't prevent or protect from the virus, chances are a bandana will do just as well.

If none of them have any effect, then a bandana is as good as anything. Unfortunately the evidence is ambiguous. If there is an effect, something like a surgical mask is better than a bandana. There are also homemade masks with more layers that are better.

But it's possible that none of them do any good. I've read a few studies pointing in each direction.

The CDC seems to have decided that it is worth it. But it wouldn't be the first time doctors did things whose benefits aren't clear. I think the theory is that it's easy enough that even if the evidence is ambiguous it's worth doing.

 

[tango]

If none of them have any effect, then a bandana is as good as anything. Unfortunately the evidence is ambiguous. If there is an effect, something like a surgical mask is better than a bandana. There are also homemade masks with more layers that are better.

But it's possible that none of them do any good.

The CDC seems to have decided that it is worth it.

There's also the question of who the mask is supposed to protect.

The higher grade masks protect the wearer but may do little to protect anyone else. Even a basic scrap of material over the mouth and nose can protect people other than the wearer, even if offering little to no protection to the wearer. At least that seems to be the current thinking.

Curiously, I understand that in Pennsylvania you are required to wear a mask if going to a quiet store with no other customers but can ride mass transit in Philadelphia without a mask. I may have misread the order but if this is the case it seems like another indication that there's something other than health concern at play.

 

[hedrick]

The CDC and some studies say it doesn't protect you. It's intended to protect others if you cough. The CDC has said pretty specifically that that's its only purpose.

I agree that it's weird you have to use it in a store and not on mass transit. I'd avoid mass transit these days, but then I realize there are plenty of people who don't have a choice.

 

[tango]

The CDC and some studies say it doesn't protect you. It's intended to protect others if you cough. The CDC has said pretty specifically that that's its only purpose.

That's what I'm seeing, the idea that my mask protects you and your mask protects me. Even then something thin offers little protection but ticks the boxes to comply with the latest ruling.

I agree that it's weird you have to use it in a store and not on mass transit. I'd avoid mass transit these days, but then I realize there are plenty of people who don't have a choice.

I avoid mass transit to the extent possible - I spent more than enough time using it to get to and from work. Requiring a mask in a quiet country store but not on a bus in the worst-affected city in the entire state makes it really hard to believe that the requirement is about public health.

 

[hedrick]

I avoid mass transit to the extent possible - I spent more than enough time using it to get to and from work. Requiring a mask in a quiet country store but not on a bus in the worst-affected city in the entire state makes it really hard to believe that the requirement is about public health.

I don't know where you are. In NYC it's required on the MTA, and recently by anyone in public. In NJ it's required in public transit.