Had the most pleasant shopping experience yesterday--

[Kev Williams]

Needed to go to Walmart for a few things. They implemented a mandatory mask rule last weekend. When I pulled into the parking lot first thing I noticed was there was barely half as many cars than normal, maybe less. The south doors were locked, entry/exit from the north doors only. Went in, grabbed my cart and wiped it down as I normally do, and went shopping.

Everyone was wearing. Place was only half full, plenty of move-around room, shelves were well stocked for the most part, checkout lines were minimal...

And it's apparent (to me anyway) why the store was half empty; half of their regular patrons would rather shop somewhere else than wear a mask...

So be it. I enjoyed it. Unlike the past 4 months, I actually felt safe while shopping. A little fog on my glasses is well worth it.

[Jim Koepke]

half of their regular patrons would rather shop somewhere else than wear a mask...

Shaking my head & LOL!

A little fog on my glasses is well worth it.

Entitled to Condensation.jpg



jtk

[Jim Becker]

True dat, Jim. Fortunately, I don't actually "need" to wear my glasses for distance vision and rarely need to use them for reading while shopping.

Kev, the Kohls near us has done similar with controlling entry/exit to one area since they are at the end of the building and have two possibilities for that. I don't know about Walmart because I never ever go there, but designating entrance/exit does make things easier to keep under control, especially if checkout and customer service is adjusted to be efficient while maintaining distancing.

[Ronald Blue]

Many more retailers are following the same course of action. I actually don't mind it if everyone has to do it. I think the people who take it out on the employees who are at the door are a special kind of a-hole. They don't make the policy and they shouldn't take the brunt of peoples anger. It's no secret that the mask is or will be required so either wear one or find somewhere else to shop. A win for you Kev.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

Every Costco I’ve ever visited has had separate entries and exits.
As for mandatory masks, instead of commenting and having the thread taken down, I also feel better when other people respect my right to good health.

[Brian Tymchak]

We've been under a mandatory mask order in our county for several weeks now. Was a bit annoyed yesterday to see that the only people not wearing masks at the Home Depot were a couple employees.

[Robert Engel]

Don’t be so judgmental.

Not saying don’t wear one, but don’t think a mask will protect you that much.

N95 are best, cloth masks are useless. Touching mask, re-using mask, adjusting mask are likely more risky than not wearing

We have a mandatory mask ordinance in effect in my county for 3 weeks yet we’ve had record # of cases since then.

IMO mask wearing is highly overrated.



COVID is primarily spread by contaminated surface/touching face.

Washing hands is your best prevention.

[Andrew Seemann]

When I read through the Landscape and Nursery Association's COVID operating guidelines for the family biz, they mentioned separate entrance and exits. I would assume it is a standard recommendation to keep people from getting too close to each other.

I do feel bad for the people that have to wear masks for a full eight hour shift, or even a four hour one, especially if it is in some hot and humid environment, like the inside of a garden center. It is not easy. I tried to do it and could not. When our place opened in May, I lasted about an hour before I started getting panic attacks from claustrophobia. Even when I want to wear one, like when I visited in my dad last week, it still doesn't stop my heart racing, getting dizzy, and hyperventilating.

[Jim Koepke]

COVID is primarily spread by contaminated surface/touching face.

Robert, you may have missed some of the latest discoveries/information pertaining to covid-19.

This from webmd.com lists droplets or aerosols and airborne transmission above surface transmission.

Droplets or aerosols. When an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks, droplets or tiny particles called aerosols carry the virus into the air from their nose or mouth. Anyone who is within 6 feet of that person can breathe it into their lungs.

Airborne transmission. Research shows that the virus can live in the air for up to 3 hours. It can get into your lungs if someone who has it breathes out and you breathe that air in.

Surface transmission. Another way to catch the new coronavirus is when you touch surfaces that someone who has the virus has coughed or sneezed on. You may touch a countertop or doorknob that's contaminated and then touch your nose, mouth, or eyes. The virus can live on surfaces like plastic and stainless steel for 2 to 3 days. To stop it, clean and disinfect all counters, knobs, and other surfaces you and your family touch several times a day.

This is why it is important for everyone to wear a mask whenever in public. It protects people from becoming infected by the mask wearer who may or may not know they are infected.

It may be that surface transmission has dropped due to people actually being aware of the danger and washing their hands and wiping down surfaces.

From the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A. > https://www.pnas.org/content/117/26/14857

We have elucidated the transmission pathways of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by analyzing the trend and mitigation measures in the three epicenters. Our results show that the airborne transmission route is highly virulent and dominant for the spread of COVID-19. The mitigation measures are discernable from the trends of the pandemic. Our analysis reveals that the difference with and without mandated face covering represents the determinant in shaping the trends of the pandemic. This protective measure significantly reduces the number of infections. Other mitigation measures, such as social distancing implemented in the United States, are insufficient by themselves in protecting the public.

Searching > covid-19 airborne transmission < indicates this new information appeared about two weeks ago.

jtk

[Jim Becker]

Not saying don’t wear one, but don’t think a mask will protect you that much.

Marks do in fact reduce the transmission vectors for the virus because they disrupt the direct flow of active virus from droplette and aerosolized virus metter from folks who are infected, even if they don't know they are infected. A significant number of people are asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic and masks help stop transmission from these individuals. They are less protective for "incoming", but still offer a lot more benefit than not wearing one. This is the advice of the experts...infectious disease professionsonals who are epidemiologists (like Professor Dr. SWMBO) , doctors and other scientists. They readily agree that cloth face coverings do not provide ultimate protection, but they are very much "not" useless. N95 masks do offer very effective protection...IF, and only if, they are properly fitted to the individual.

COVID is primarily spread by contaminated surface/touching face.

This is absolutely false. The majority of COVID-19 infections are transmitted by breathing/coughing and other respiratory actions. It's possible to get from a surface that virus was deposited on relatively recently and hand-washing is very effective in reducing risk from getting the virus via your hands subsequently touching your face and eyes. But again, the whole point of masks and social distancing is to reduce the primary vector for the virus which is through the air in droplets from cough and aerosolized particles via normal breathing, speech and activities like singing.

[Steve Demuth]

Don’t be so judgmental.

N95 are best, cloth masks are useless. Touching mask, re-using mask, adjusting mask are likely more risky than not wearing

This is most definitely not the conclusion my employer has reached. We have required masks on campus since mid-April, and early on decided that for visitors, cloth masks were acceptable for this purpose.

Lest you think, "so what," my day job is as an executive at the Mayo Clinic. I trust the infections disease experts and epidemiologists who advised us on that decision.

[Rod Sheridan]

Robert, the mask isn’t to protect you, it’s to protect others from you...Rod

[Andrew Joiner]

Robert, the mask isn’t to protect you, it’s to protect others from you...Rod

Hopefully both you and others:
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/20/89322...aring-them-too

[Mike Goetzke]

Don’t be so judgmental.

Not saying don’t wear one, but don’t think a mask will protect you that much.

N95 are best, cloth masks are useless. Touching mask, re-using mask, adjusting mask are likely more risky than not wearing

We have a mandatory mask ordinance in effect in my county for 3 weeks yet we’ve had record # of cases since then.

IMO mask wearing is highly overrated.



COVID is primarily spread by contaminated surface/touching face.

Washing hands is your best prevention.

Wow - you could not be more incorrect! Where did you get so much misinformation?

[Robert Engel]

Wow - you could not be more incorrect! Where did you get so much misinformation?

I don't believe I'm misinformed, sir.

From the Annals of Internal Medicine: "Neither surgical nor cotton masks effectively filtered SARS–CoV-2 during coughs by infected patients." Article here.

From Nature "Respiratory virus shedding in exhaled breath and efficacy of face masks" Article here Interestingly one of the major difficulties in the study was actually recovering virus particles from the breath of infected people.

From the U of Minn Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy: "Data do not back cloth masks to limit COVID-19, experts say" Article here.

COVID gains entry through mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth) not just by inhaling aerosols. This is not disputable. Touching masks, re-using, washing hands, etc is simply common sense.

In contrast, here is what NPR reports in Face Mask Debates: Yes, Wearing Masks Help. Here's Why" Referring to the studies on face masks, here is a quote from an epidemiologist: "they were observational, not the gold standard of science, a randomized controlled trial, which would be very unethical in a pandemic" Compare that to the 3 articles I cited above.

You say I'm misinformed, but I would ask where do you get your information?