To mask or not to mask?

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Arnold

Arnold

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Arnold
Next week I will be traveling twice as far as I need to to get to Nashville from Philly, yes that's right I'm riding in a tubular aluminium germ incubator assembled by Boeing.

Should I wear a surgical mask or not?

Some thoughts:

1) I am just as handsome with and without the mask.

2) I don't know if they are effective.
3) Does anyone know if they are effective?

4) These are a professional model mask donated by a dental school.

All input accepted - talk to the mask.
 
I think you need a filtered, forced air full-face mask, even in normal times. Not sure what would work now.

David
 
I'm flying Southwest next week to Florida for my 60th high school reunion and have a professional N-95 mask (flexi rubber seal around the perimeter) that I'm going to wear on the plane. I'm also taking along packages of alcohol wipes. An ounce of prevention...
 
No mask...the world has over 7 billion people and as of today the numbers are 2,712 deaths and there have been 80,427 cases world wide. This is hardly a huge issue as far as Im concerned but then again Im just a lowly blue collar pilot.
 
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Anything that would be effective... they probably won't let you take on the plane. The masks most people wear do nothing but identify the idiots.
 
Even with a mask, if it’s not fit properly, it’s useless. In EMS we’re required to get fit annually to make sure we’re using the right size. Got plenty of other respiratory viruses/ diseases I have to deal with at work other than the current Coronavirus.
 
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I was thinking I need to get one of those plague doctor masks before they come back in style and sell out. Of course Amazon has them. Made in China. Ironic.
 
95% of retail masks are useless in preventing airborne transmission of the virus.

What masks do do is prevent you from putting you hands on face and mouth which is responsible for more transmission of more bacteria and viruses.

Wash your hands.
 
hmmm.might be more handsome with the mask.
 
Flew SW today and only noticed a small hand full of people wearing mask. Most of them Chinese or elderly. With the exception of one dumb A that was wearing a bandana over his face, though that could have been a fashion statement albeit a poor one.

for the record, I traveled sans mask. Look out for my obituary.
 
N95 mask have to be fitted. I have one in my accident bag that was fitted with some nasty smelling spray.
 
So I just got fit tested for an N95 mask at work. It was quite a test. This is a pic from my first test. A series of 30 second texts of talking, moving different ways, heavy breathing, you name it all with a saccharin mist sprayed in that crazy hood Which I failed with the first inhalation. It was tight, quality mask, but I had small amount of stubble from a few days no shave. I had to shave clean and really seal down on my nose to point where I had to mouth breathe. Then and only then did I pass the test. Unless you are really fit tested for a good mask you are only getting peace of mind through ignorance. 1C0D7F1F-C1D3-4B0B-B684-E418CED05E45.jpeg
When i saw my pic all I could think about was Kirk in the Thoilan web.
 
If you want masks, don't wait to buy them. I bought a few dozen at a Menards yesterday, and they were already running low, with a sign on the shelf announcing the stock can't be replenished once it's gone. I'd be surprised if that store still had anything tomorrow.

If Shawn's right, that they don't seal enough to keep airborne germs out, but they do keep you from touching your mouth and nose, well then, the cheapest mask is what you want.
 
benyflyguy said:
So I just got fit tested for an N95 mask at work. It was quite a test. This is a pic from my first test. A series of 30 second texts of talking, moving different ways, heavy breathing, you name it all with a saccharin mist sprayed in that crazy hood Which I failed with the first inhalation. It was tight, quality mask, but I had small amount of stubble from a few days no shave. I had to shave clean and really seal down on my nose to point where I had to mouth breathe. Then and only then did I pass the test. Unless you are really fit tested for a good mask you are only getting peace of mind through ignorance. View attachment 83054
When i saw my pic all I could think about was Kirk in the Thoilan web.
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I'm just going to have to die from it. I'm claustrophobic, and I *hate* stuff over my head. I tolerate oxygen masks only when I have to, and since I fly single pilot, I've even chosen to stay below a certain altitude so I'm not forced to wear it for an entire trip now and then.
 
Put the mask on the people coughing, running a fever. Everyone else, WASH YOUR HANDS! And, keep your hands away from your face.

The virus is spread through CONTACT. Meaning, you pick it up on your hands and then touch your face, rub your eyes, eat with your hands, etc...
 
After gathering 14 hours of advice from POA I have resorted to the CDC website.

Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.
  • CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.
  • Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).
 
It's a cold, seems a little more severe than most, but I'm thinking there is not much you can do to avoid it if you come in contact with it. I'm more worried about you people who use the toilet and don't wash your hands after..... you people are f'd in the head.
 
steingar said:
The fear associated with COVID-19 is horrifically overblown.
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I certainly respect your perspective and hope that is the case. Once the word "pandemic" enters the conversation, everything changes. That describes something that will likely be present wherever we are and could remain a threat for a couple of years. Big difference between that and seasonal flu outbreaks.
 
write-stuff said:
I certainly respect your perspective and hope that is the case. Once the word "pandemic" enters the conversation, everything changes. That describes something that will likely be present wherever we are and could remain a threat for a couple of years. Big difference between that and seasonal flu outbreaks.
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From the CDC:

The overall burden of influenza for the 2010-2011 season was an estimated 21 million influenza illnesses, 10 million influenza-associated medical visits, 290,000 influenza-related hospitalizations, and 37,000 flu-associated deaths.

Eight years later, with similar data in between:

CDC estimates that the burden of illness during the 2018–2019 season included an estimated 35.5 million people getting sick with influenza, 16.5 million people going to a health care provider for their illness, 490,600 hospitalizations, and 34,200 deaths from influenza.

Media coverage of seasonal flu?

No mask for me, double dose of Vitamin C can't hurt.
 
simtech said:
No mask...the world has over 7 billion people and as of today the numbers are 2,712 deaths and there have been 80,427 cases world wide. This is hardly a huge issue as far as Im concerned but then again Im just a lowly blue collar pilot.
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Yeah, you probably won't get Corona, but a couple of months ago my GF flew across the country and brought back a cold, which she shared with me.
 
Not sure mask would make any real difference. A regular person would probably not be using mask correctly anyway, even if fitted.

This coronavirus to flu comparison is pretty silly, IMO.

Of course seasonal flu kills more people. For now. Largely because you almost cannot escape it and nearly 10% of population get it. Just raw numbers are huge. Yet mortality rate is very small and very predictable. It is a, usually, known enemy with available and known countermeasures. 35m cases with 34,200 deaths is what? 0.09% mortality rate. And it's going to be over in about a month maybe two.

Coronavirus has killed already 2700 out of 80000 that we know of. That's 3%. 30 times the mortality rate. We have no effective treatment or countermeasures at this time. It is not very predictable and we have no idea how long it will last. So the only thing that keeps it from killing far more people than seasonal flu is its containment. Something that is apparently failing.

So yeah, today in USA flu is a much bigger problem. In 30-60 days? Flu will be gone. This thing *might* be hitting its stride.

Or it will go away just like flu does
 
write-stuff said:
I certainly respect your perspective and hope that is the case. Once the word "pandemic" enters the conversation, everything changes. That describes something that will likely be present wherever we are and could remain a threat for a couple of years. Big difference between that and seasonal flu outbreaks.
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The word “pandemic” is one of the things that caused it to be overblown.
 
steingar said:
It will almost certainly do that once the weather warms. Coronaviruses react to warmth and humidity the same way as influenza viruses.
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The thing is, not all influenza or respiratory viruses are seasonal. In northern countries like USA, we tend to see Influenza as a seasonal virus(though not always, like pandemic flu), but that's not true for other places in the world. So I'm not sure saying definitively that it is going to go away once it warms up is valid. Likely - yes. Definitely - no.

MERS, for example, wasn't affected by hot temps, while SARS apparently was(though nobody is sure)
 
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"Pandemic" has a specific definition as does "epidemic". So if the media uses the term after it has been used by the CDC and NIH, I don't think that is media hype.

Now will there actually be a pandemic? I certainly hope not although people trained in this science believe their will be. Will it be catastrophic in terms of deaths? I sure hope not and I'm not seeing that being predicted yet. But history shows us what can happen. The 1918 influenza pandemic lasted two years and killed upwards of 50 million people. We can hope to do better here in 2020, but much remains to be seen.
 
write-stuff said:
"Pandemic" has a specific definition as does "epidemic". So if the media uses the term after it has been used by the CDC and NIH, I don't think that is media hype.
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That’s the great thing about the CDC...they can do the equivalent of yelling “fire” in a crowded theater and make people think it’s a good thing.
 
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