Red Mosquito

B wrote:By the end of the year? I would expect mask requirements to be lifted much sooner than that.

I've always looked as masks as a courtesy to others. So, for now, I wear a mask so people who have no idea what my vaccination status don't have to worry about their safety when near me. I GUESS you could call that theater, but then every polite and courteous thing we do is technically theater.

I don't know when that should end. Not yet, but probably somewhere around end of summer.

End of summer would be reasonable. Not sure that the powers that be are reasonable. Your State's mileage will vary.

simple schoolboy wrote:

B wrote:By the end of the year? I would expect mask requirements to be lifted much sooner than that.

I've always looked as masks as a courtesy to others. So, for now, I wear a mask so people who have no idea what my vaccination status don't have to worry about their safety when near me. I GUESS you could call that theater, but then every polite and courteous thing we do is technically theater.

I don't know when that should end. Not yet, but probably somewhere around end of summer.

End of summer would be reasonable. Not sure that the powers that be are reasonable. Your State's mileage will vary.

Most states are moving the wrong way with cases, hospitalizations, and deaths rising back to February levels. I agree we are likely to see mask mandates lifted before school starts in the fall, but that doesn't make it a good idea. We cannot have a do-over here, so it's better to tack towards an overly conservative approach to reopening, especially in states where they dont have the funds/infrastructure to maintain last year's health protocols.

So if cases go up it's because masks aren't mandated hard enough and if cases go down we've eliminated flu and have controlled the virus because masks work? Do I have it right?

verb_to_trust wrote:So if cases go up it's because masks aren't mandated hard enough and if cases go down we've eliminated flu and have controlled the virus because masks work? Do I have it right?

It's not a single vector or binary answer. Experience teaches us that masks and other practices like social distancing and vaccination are parts of a larger toolset that when combined can be used to effectively fight airborne viruses by reducing, not eliminating, their transmission until prevalence in the environment is manageable by normal, in-place solutions like indoor plumbing and washing your hands. Bailing on masks is like we are in a MMA match and we stop punching when the opponent is on the ropes because our knuckles hurt. You don't do that. You keep hitting harder and harder until submission in order to make sure you win, otherwise the opponent may still be able to stage a come back.

I guess what I'm getting at is the mandates are a little silly when mask compliance doesn't even really seem connected to them. In Austin Texas I bet you still see a lot of masks. Same with whatever big box stores or restaurant that still requires them. Have the STATE MANDATES ever really meant much?

Flu can go down while COVID goes up because it's half as infectious. Sloppy mask wearing works great against flu.

verb_to_trust wrote:I guess what I'm getting at is the mandates are a little silly when mask compliance doesn't even really seem connected to them. In Austin Texas I bet you still see a lot of masks. Same with whatever big box stores or restaurant that still requires them. Have the STATE MANDATES ever really meant much?

Oooh... gotcha. I dunno. Other than giving businesses leverage to enforce their in-house rules... maybe as a method of changing perception? When the red state governors come out and endorse the mandates I think it does make a difference in a particular segment of the red team population that understands the value but otherwise would have defaulted to not wearing them in order to signal group identity. That's just supposition though.

Bi_3 wrote:

verb_to_trust wrote:I guess what I'm getting at is the mandates are a little silly when mask compliance doesn't even really seem connected to them. In Austin Texas I bet you still see a lot of masks. Same with whatever big box stores or restaurant that still requires them. Have the STATE MANDATES ever really meant much?

Oooh... gotcha. I dunno. Other than giving businesses leverage to enforce their in-house rules... maybe as a method of changing perception? When the red state governors come out and endorse the mandates I think it does make a difference in a particular segment of the red team population that understands the value but otherwise would have defaulted to not wearing them in order to signal group identity. That's just supposition though.

Seems the mandates helped early on, and their effects can linger. For example, my buddy from Wisconsin came down to Chicago with his family this week, and they were shocked how many people were wearing masks. It would seem this is a direct result of clear messaging from state and local leadership throughout the pandemic, which has not been the case in Wisconsin.

Or it's just like that in any major city

miami/miami beach, for example

They need to work on their messaging!

No, it’s too late is the point.

Just so you know nobody outside the city gives a fuck what JB or Beetlejuice say. People make up their own minds and pretty much always have since like May last year.

The radicalness of the exurbs

I hope they keep masks in schools forever. Those little germ spreaders can keep that shit to themselves.

Between masks forever, 24/7 access to porn and normalization of drug use kids should be good to go from here on out!

saw a guy in publix this evening without a mask...he had tattoos and i'm too much of a puss* to confront him

lennytheweedwhacker wrote:saw a guy in publix this evening without a mask...he had tattoos and i'm too much of a puss* to confront him

was he buying crab legs?

doug rr wrote:

lennytheweedwhacker wrote:saw a guy in publix this evening without a mask...he had tattoos and i'm too much of a puss* to confront him

was he buying crab legs?

no and he was white and he was in the cheese section because he's an idiot and i don't know if he paid for his items

verb_to_trust wrote:Just so you know nobody outside the city gives a fuck what JB or Beetlejuice say. People make up their own minds and pretty much always have since like May last year.

I’m sure the Quad Cities experience is much more representative of America.