SincereOnlineGuy Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 (edited) (heaven forbid I should wade into the swamp that is starting a Covid thread, but to my credit I did at least start it in the Covid section) There was a unique opportunity to study the effects of simple mask-wearing in the presence of two Covid-infected hairstylists in Missouri back in May. (the study was concluded more recently because of "contact-tracing" and the rare and unique opportunity to amass data from dozens of people) So picture a standard, lively hair salon quite busy soon after the Springfield, MO area reopened after quarantine. People call, leave names, make appointments, and many are likely steady clients from over the years (in other words, many/most are traceable, which is important). Time goes by... and two stylists are at some point tested for Covid, and both test positive. Immediately of course they are told to isolate at home, and surely the salon is cleansed thoroughly. Authorities learn from each how long they'd been feeling Covid-like symptoms... and they did careful data analysis to show that the two stylists had serviced 139 customers collectively during the window of time when they may have been infected. ONE of the stylists infected everyone in her household (in a setting where masks were not typically worn BY the same person who wore masks at work). Among the 139 customers known to have been in front of the infected stylists for 15-45 minutes each, none has tested positive for Covid, as both stylists were wearing masks at work. There were also 4 other hairstylists working at the same salon (likely spending much more TIME sharing the same, indoor airspace) and none of them tested positive for Covid. You can't so easily conduct such a study on a city bus, or on a subway train, because "contact information" is next to impossible to assemble for later analysis. Nor can you knowingly conduct such a study when bringing persons known to be infected with Covid in front of groups of others, because few others would want to take their chances. But the almost-certain accident that was two hairstylists both having Covid, and wearing masks at work (and likely not at home), while working with a sample size of nearly 12 dozen others, in an indoor setting, gives a strong implication that masks really did the trick. Obviously there are some tiny... flaws/holes in this study... in that some who declined to be tested (surely for their not feeling so much as a hint of sickness) could indeed HAVE Covid-19. But it is safe to recognize a strong correlation between facemasks and greatly reduced incidence of Covid-19 transmission. Maybe it bears mention too that similar facemasks have long before (Covid) been a steady presence in East Asian societies, and that it is quite possible that the use of masks has kept the numbers remarkably low in East Asian countries. Laos: 3 cases per million inhabitants Vietnam: 4 cases per Myanmar 6 cases per Cambodia: 10 cases per Taiwan: 19 cases per Thailand: 46 cases per China: 58 cases per million (SO they claim...) Japan: 76 Hong Kong: 212 USA: 10,874 cases per million inhabitants So wear your facemasks when you're out. (I know most of you 'get it' ... but maybe the clueless might hop on board after a useful analysis of real-life Covid from a place a few hundred miles from the geographic center of the 48 contiguous states) Edited July 15, 2020 by SincereOnlineGuy 5 2 Link to post Share on other sites
amaysngrace Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 I left the beach on Sunday because there were too many people for my own personal comfort level. Nobody wears masks on the beach. Some lady was spraying sunblock and she was about 30-40 feet away but I could still smell it. It totally freaked me out so I moved my chair. Then I could smell something somebody was smoking, that freaked me out too so I moved my chair again. The third place I sat I just watched people I guess maybe to see who was going to freak me out next but there were so many people I just packed up my things and left. It was a beach with lifeguards too so everyone needs to swim together in a small section of the ocean. Gross. Link to post Share on other sites
Foxhall Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 Id much rather mask wearing than lockdown, where I am, feeling grateful to be five weeks out of lockdown and hoping there will be no return, realistically the only hope of that is that wearing masks will keep things at bay. Link to post Share on other sites
QuietRiot Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 On 7/15/2020 at 4:46 PM, amaysngrace said: I left the beach on Sunday because there were too many people for my own personal comfort level. Nobody wears masks on the beach. Some lady was spraying sunblock and she was about 30-40 feet away but I could still smell it. It totally freaked me out so I moved my chair. Then I could smell something somebody was smoking, that freaked me out too so I moved my chair again. The third place I sat I just watched people I guess maybe to see who was going to freak me out next but there were so many people I just packed up my things and left. It was a beach with lifeguards too so everyone needs to swim together in a small section of the ocean. Gross. I hear ya man....although it is outside and the virus can be diluted...I think the real spread would be more so at the restroom/shower areas at the beach. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author SincereOnlineGuy Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 On 7/15/2020 at 1:46 PM, amaysngrace said: I left the beach on Sunday because there were too many people for my own personal comfort level. Nobody wears masks on the beach. Some lady was spraying sunblock and she was about 30-40 feet away but I could still smell it. It totally freaked me out so I moved my chair. Then I could smell something somebody was smoking, that freaked me out too so I moved my chair again. The third place I sat I just watched people I guess maybe to see who was going to freak me out next but there were so many people I just packed up my things and left. It was a beach with lifeguards too so everyone needs to swim together in a small section of the ocean. Gross. When it comes to smelling stuff some people smoke... MY UNeducated instinct is that Covid proooooooobably doesn't waft quite as far in the air as does the scent of some stuff that some people smoke. (and I say that mostly as the result of a lifetime of (smelling it long before I see it) ) (*** NO one should alter their comfort level based on that hypothesis of mine) And I'm not sure the human mind can even grasp in person any section of the ocean which isn't realtively small. One great thing about an ocean beach is that there is typically plenty of breeze and a lot of wide-open air. (so hopefully few are threatened by Covid wafting about in such a setting, but who knows?) 1 Link to post Share on other sites
amaysngrace Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 (edited) Well I go out pretty far in the ocean, like I’m always the furthest one out besides surfers. Most people only go waist deep to pee and hardly anyone goes under which is so so weird to me. All those people so close together in the water kind of grosses me out. Not gonna lie. Edited July 18, 2020 by amaysngrace Link to post Share on other sites
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