Immanuel Kant and wearing masks in public.

[jalapeno_pretzel]

All I can think of now is the Monty Python philosopher's song.

 

[dclpluto]

There've been plenty of threads about wearing masks or not and why, or why not. It's refreshing to see the honesty for our motives that come up, whatever they may be, a diversity representing the differing experiences we all have with this pandemic and I don't intend to make this thread about judging anyone for their decision. I have a view on the matter, and I think people who feel differently are likely wrong, but that's okay. Either they're wrong or I am, it probably doesn't make them (or me) a bad person.

But an answer in a different thread did get me thinking about the roots of ethical behavior. In all things ethics, I fall back to Kant because he says what most of us believe so succinctly. He says that for a action to be ethical one must...

Essentially, to be a good person, we must act in a way that we would prefer everyone else, in our position, would have to act.

Most people who decide not to wear a mask seem to look at wearing a mask as a personal decision that affects themselves primarily and others minimally if at all. I don't know if that's how those people feel, but that's how it seems and that intrigues me.

So the poll question is:
You and 3 people you love will be sharing a 100' square room with 23 other groups of 4 people for 1 hour. A total of 100 people. There are 25 spots marked, one for each group to stand, that will keep at least 6' between each group. One person in this room has the Coronavirus and is contagious . That person may not know they are infected. That person may be you.

What percentage of the occupants of that room would you prefer be wearing a mask?

impossible LOL.You want 100 people to be in a square footage of only 100 Square feet with 25 groups with 6 feet in between each group. Plus it will be 24 other groups not 23.

 

[Weedy]

 

[oceanview2020]

What type of mask are you wearing? If it is any kind of N95, that will increase the effort required to breathe. I find cloth paper isolation mask to be more comfortable than cloth. You can get 50 masks on Amazon now for $20. Hope this helps.

Tried N95. Went in a small store just to get a coke and kept grabbing at it! Felt like an anxiety attack was coming quick. So quickly knew that wouldn’t work. I now have cloth masks because I couldn’t get paper ones at the time.

Thanks! Off to Amazon! (My UPS guy is getting really tired of coming to my house LOL)

Hoping these work because my bosses are on the fence about them at work. It will depend on if we are open to the public. We don’t have to be to do our jobs but it helps.

 

[Weedy]

 

[DeniseJH]

From the Mayo Clinic: "..why weren't face masks recommended at the start of the pandemic? At that time experts didn't yet know the extent to which people with COVID-19 could spread the virus before symptoms appeared. Nor was it known that some people have COVID-19 but don't have any symptoms. Both groups can unknowingly spread the virus to others. These discoveries led the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to do an about-face on face masks. The CDC updated its guidance to recommend widespread use of simple cloth face coverings to help prevent transmission of COVID-19 by people who have the virus but don't know it. Can face masks help prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)? YES, face masks combined with other preventative measures, such as frequent hand washing and social distancing, help slow the spread of the disease."


From The Cleveland Clinic: "Dr. Hamilton says wearing a cloth mask will not prevent you from breathing in respiratory droplets that carry a virus, like COVID-19. But it will help to protect others from you if you happen to be infected, with or without symptoms. '...even the cloth variety you can make yourself at home are very effective at reducing the spread of the virus.'"

Peer reviewed studies or not, the advice from the experts is clear.

 

[DeniseJH]

He's a chiropractor - I'll take the recommendations from the CDC, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, etc., etc., etc.

 

[PollyannaMom]

impossible LOL.You want 100 people to be in a square footage of only 100 Square feet with 25 groups with 6 feet in between each group. Plus it will be 24 other groups not 23.

I assumed that description meant a 100 foot long wall being each side of the square, rather than 100 square feet of floor space.

 

[sam_gordon]

Other-

I may or may not wear one, and I won't shame anyone for not wearing one. I personally believe keeping 6' of distance is enough, which the OP says will be maintained.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Everyone. It's simple to do. I care about other people, hopefully other people care about others also.

 

[sk!mom]

*worn

 

[Pyotr]

Since I don't know how to insert an article as you have - there's that pesky lack of education showing again - I'll just say: Google is your friend. CDC does say that studies show masks help prevent spread .

Actually it’s my higher education (I hold a post-graduate degree) that taught me that only scientific, peer-reviewed sources should be used when forming an opinion. Google and Facebook are not valid sources.

I’m not an anti-mask person. I follow the CDC’s recommendations as it may help prevent the spread of the virus. What I do disagree with is people who would rather hurl insults rather than have a meaningful discussion.

If you read the article I provided, it states that masks do not protect the wearer from the transmission of influenza. If everyone wears masks it may prevent the spread. However, the improper use of masks may increase increase influenza’s transmission.

Covid-19 isn’t influenza and is far more contagious. There are too many unknowns.

 

[hsmamato2]

There've been plenty of threads about wearing masks or not and why, or why not. It's refreshing to see the honesty for our motives that come up, whatever they may be, a diversity representing the differing experiences we all have with this pandemic and I don't intend to make this thread about judging anyone for their decision. I have a view on the matter, and I think people who feel differently are likely wrong, but that's okay. Either they're wrong or I am, it probably doesn't make them (or me) a bad person.

But an answer in a different thread did get me thinking about the roots of ethical behavior. In all things ethics, I fall back to Kant because he says what most of us believe so succinctly. He says that for a action to be ethical one must...

Essentially, to be a good person, we must act in a way that we would prefer everyone else, in our position, would have to act.

Most people who decide not to wear a mask seem to look at wearing a mask as a personal decision that affects themselves primarily and others minimally if at all. I don't know if that's how those people feel, but that's how it seems and that intrigues me.

So the poll question is:
You and 3 people you love will be sharing a 100' square room with 23 other groups of 4 people for 1 hour. A total of 100 people. There are 25 spots marked, one for each group to stand, that will keep at least 6' between each group. One person in this room has the Coronavirus and is contagious . That person may not know they are infected. That person may be you.

What percentage of the occupants of that room would you prefer be wearing a mask?

EXCELLENT question!

 

[DeniseJH]

Actually it’s my higher education (I hold a post-graduate degree) that taught me that only scientific, peer-reviewed sources should be used when forming an opinion. Google and Facebook are not valid sources.

I’m not an anti-mask person. I follow the CDC’s recommendations as it may help prevent the spread of the virus. What I do disagree with is people who would rather hurl insults rather than have a meaningful discussion.

If you read the article I provided, it states that masks do not protect the wearer from the transmission of influenza. If everyone wears masks it may prevent the spread. However, the improper use of masks may increase increase influenza’s transmission.

Covid-19 isn’t influenza and is far more contagious. There are too many unknowns.

I said NOTHING about Facebook, and the idea behind going to Google is to find information, as I don't have a medical library at my disposal. You'll notice I sought out the Mayo Clinic, The Cleveland Clinic and the CDC., not Joe's Uncle Bob's neighbor's opinion on the Novel Coronavirus.


So if you agree with the CDC recommendations you're just debating my saying "studies show"? What I was referring to is the simple, not peer reviewed study that showed how wearing a mask contains much of the droplets from a person's sneeze and/or cough. That combined with the agreed upon recommendations seems pretty scientific to me: a layperson without an advanced degree who believes in listening to the experts.

 

[Christine]

Other-

I may or may not wear one, and I won't shame anyone for not wearing one. I personally believe keeping 6' of distance is enough, which the OP says will be maintained.

I'd agree with you if it were outdoors. The CDC website has an article and graphic posted to their site about COVID spread in a restaurant where people were gathered for about an hour. In an indoor situation, for any length of time, 6 feet won't be enough if people with the virus are exhaling.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-0764_article
This link also has a pretty interesting tracing of people who got infected on a bus in China. Shows who got infected, who was wearing a mask, etc.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/sci...vel-twice-far-official-safe-distance-and-stay

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

wearing a mask contains much of the droplets from a person's sneeze and/or cough.

The science mostly agrees that so far most studies have been too small, had too many non-compliant participants, or have somewhat inconclusive results. And yet the recommendation still stands.
Why? Because of the bolded. Easy enough for anyone to understand.

 

[sam_gordon]

I'd agree with you if it were outdoors. The CDC website has an article and graphic posted to their site about COVID spread in a restaurant where people were gathered for about an hour. In an indoor situation, for any length of time, 6 feet won't be enough if people with the virus are exhaling.

I stand by my answer. If it's going through the AC system (which, for the record, the OP never said anything about HVAC), then we're screwed.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

How could anyone be so ignorant to believe otherwise?

 

[mefordis]

"Masks don't do anything at all" may be an opinion, but it is also simply not true. There are studies that prove this. How could anyone be so ignorant to believe otherwise? Do they believe science is a lie? That they know more than the scientists? Truly boggles the mind, and proves that this country needs to put some serious emphasis on improving it's education system.

Have you even taken a science class ? Science is not something to believe, such as a faith. It is a PROCESS, whereby questions are asked, hypotheses made, and experiments conducted, results evaluated, hypotheses reformed based on those results. I am so tired of uneducated people just thinking using the word SCIENCE! makes them appear smart. It does the opposite to anyone with any intelligence. I don't blame you, I blame the idiot box (television).

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

If it's going through the AC system (which, for the record, the OP never said anything about HVAC), then we're screwed.

It's not. The article is about a windowless restaurant that used AC for ventilation without distancing customers. The transmission was as expected, droplet; the issue compounded by directional airflow of the AC. It is more a testament to the whole "outside is safer" way of thinking (which we already knew from other respiratory viruses - it is the reason why many viruses are more prevalent when it's cold outside and we tend to stay indoors).