COVID-19 Outbreak (Update: More than 2.9M cases and 132,313 deaths in US)

DaveXA said
We don't. Correct. Maybe we should? I dunno. But it's either we stay at home, or we get out and learn to use PPE and distancing. Otherwise, we're screwed.

We're screwed either way. Sorry. You can't force people to be confined to their house for extended periods of time...highly unconstitutional. So we are just going to have to deal with some people not wearing PPE when out in the public. Eventually we will have herd immunity...one way or another...whether or not we are flattening the curve or not. That's the type of immunity that occurs when there is not a vaccination present.

Eeyore said
I addressed the long-term mask wearing with management last week.

We were discussing how we were going to proceed when we go back to work. They were talking about n95 masks.

I brought up that it's, often, 100-120 degrees and humid on the floor. The masks are fine for people in the pulpits who are sitting in chairs a d pushing buttons but the masks won't last 30 minutes on the floor. Even if they do it'll be very difficult to breathe in them, and they'll fog our safety glasses, in those conditions.

We have face shields that attach to our hard hats that cover our entire faces. They're not as effective as masks in normal conditions but I think that it's a good compromise.

N95's are not practical...AT ALL...in your work environment and it's debatable whether or not they are even necessary. N95's have been associated with reduced oxygenation in a few studies. COVID-19 is a disease process of reduced oxygenation. There is a concern of mine that N95's may potentially tip an asymptomatic COVID patient into being symptomatic. I have poor science to back that up...but heck, there this entire COVID-19 situation is built upon questionable at best science to begin with. Anyone who has ever worn an N95 knows that you really heat up with the mask and it's simply not breathable. It really should only be worn in short bursts and in healthcare workers who are at high risk of receiving high viral loads, which seems to be one of the primary mechanisms this disease is killing otherwise healthy and young people.