on coping with C19 lockdown

[18.99s]

Down again yesterday - 16 straight days of decreasing cases (7-day rolling average) in the USA.

Strange thing is that deaths have not followed that pattern. In the middle of the 16-day streak they went up for a couple days and then levelled off but they are still very high.

Nothing strange about that; deaths lag cases by a few weeks, so don't expect decreases in deaths until 2 to 4 weeks after the decrease in cases started.

[Atticus]

And handwashing.

True, but it turned out, that was much less a transmission path than airborne mini-droplets. Stand in a room with a bunch of unmasked people, don't wear a mask yourself, and you've got the perfect situation to spread the disease.

[user4]

A year of covid has reaffirmed my initial opinion that no one knows the optimum protocol to most effectively combat this pandemic.

Its almost as if the more a person has seen through the years, the less likely they are to be moved by the high pitched caterwauling of those with perfect political binoculars.

[bambam1729]

Nothing strange about that; deaths lag cases by a few weeks, so don't expect decreases in deaths until 2 to 4 weeks after the decrease in cases started.

That's true - I had thought of that after I posted it.

[18.99s]

A year of covid has reaffirmed my initial opinion that no one knows the optimum protocol to most effectively combat this pandemic.

A year of Covid has brought me to conclude that the optimal protocol to combat it is known. It's just that people in most countries won't follow it.

Look at Japan and South Korea. Both are densely populated countries, with older populations than the US, yet they are both still below 50 deaths per million and 3000 cases per million since the pandemic began, while the US is above 1,300 and 79,000 respectively.

[jeremyp]

From Wa Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/healt...ants-guidance/
"Wear your mask is becoming wear your masks.


The discovery of highly transmissible coronavirus variants in the United States has public health experts urging Americans to upgrade the simple cloth masks that have become a staple shield during the pandemic.

The change can be as simple as slapping a second mask over the one you already wear, or better yet, donning a fabric mask on top of a surgical mask. Some experts say it is time to buy the highest-quality KN95 or N95 masks that officials hoping to reserve supplies for health-care workers have long discouraged Americans from purchasing.
"But on a Wednesday town hall appearance on CNN, Fauci appeared to reverse course and instead stressed following CDC guidance, which does not call for wearing two masks or N95s. New CDC Director Director Rochelle Walensky, appearing alongside Fauci, also warned that N95 masks are uncomfortable to wear and may dissuade consistent use if expanded to the general public."

I started double masking yesterday. I look like Dumbo but feel safer. Florida now rampant with U.K. variant. S. African soon to come.

[Halfmiler2]

How do you breathe?

[Atticus]

If we'd all had access to N95s and ALL worn them, I think the deaths would have been drastically reduced.
Next time around (!!) the first emergency action is to get them to everyone and nationally mandate wearing them whenever you get within 10' of someone else!

[gm]

How do you breathe?

I have worn double masks for months when around others. It is not really a problem. Heck, medical folks do it for hours every day.

[18.99s]

You have to very careful with the two-mask thing. If the masks aren't snug to your face, and the masks are already double-layer or more, two masks could reduce airflow through the mask material to the extent that much more air leaks in and out through the sides and top. If your glasses fog up, you have significant leakage through the top of the mask(s).

On the other hand, a larger mask on top of a smaller one probably results in a more snug fit.

That's not a problem with a fitted N95 which is sealed to the face; adding a cloth mask or surgical mask on top of it wouldn't cause more air to leak around the edges. But most people don't have access to N95s, thanks to market forces which pushed them to be made outside the US and failed to prepare for the fact that other countries would logically hoard them during a pandemic.

[bambam1729]

I have worn double masks for months when around others. It is not really a problem. Heck, medical folks do it for hours every day.

We do? I never wore a double mask in the OR. We did use a face mask and face shield when we were especially worried about infection transmission - patients with AIDS or Hep C, but it wasn't very common.

[bhall]

N95s are still expensive. But you can get independently certified KN95s for less than $3/mask. We've used these for any "higher" risk situation - https://packedhealth.com/products/kn...32020773732446. With the new variants we're using them all the time, except in the lowest risk situations.

Your mileage may vary.

[gm]

We do? I never wore a double mask in the OR. We did use a face mask and face shield when we were especially worried about infection transmission - patients with AIDS or Hep C, but it wasn't very common.

Did I say ALL medical people? I should have been more precise in my message board posting.

More than a few of the nurses and other front line workers I know do wear two masks while on duty (plus a face shield in a couple instances).

[jeremyp]

How do you breathe?

I inhale through my nose...exhale through my mouth... actually no problems. And I have asthma.

[bhall]

My understanding is that medical professionals wearing N95s use a surgical mask over the N95 to protect it and make it last longer. The static charge of the N95 is part of what makes it so effective. No idea if there is any science behind protecting the N95s or just sound logic.