I wore N95 on bus/subway today. I checked out what other people were wearing and I noticed many people were wearing better masks, some were even double masked. This is NYC. Our number is up to 4500 now.
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@abasket it is so crazy to me that in a place with low percentage of vaccination that people would not be concerned enough to mask up indoors.
My sister lives outside of Cleveland and has a child too young to be vaccinated. I was so relieved, as I know my sister was also, that the schools where she lives have implemented a mask mandate.
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I think (hope) Iāve retained some of the other good habits of covid. I usually wear a mask now but Iām still conscious of staying 6 feet away, I wash my hands more, I make sure to sneeze (allergies) away from others or into my mask (then change it). I also donāt go to retail stores nearly as much as I used to and spend less time there when I am shopping. I have had meals with friends, but weāre all vaccinated and still keep our distance.
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Many of the places with low percentage of vaccination are those where many people are not concerned about COVID-19 (ājust a flu[which they really mean to refer to a minor feverish illness, not the real flu]ā) and therefore do not want to be bothered with any COVID-19 mitigation (including both vaccination and masks).
On the other hand, some places where high concern about COVID-19 is common are places with both high vaccination rates and high rate of mask wearing (including in low-risk not-required situations like an outdoor walk in an uncrowded park) both exist.
Even when people wear masks, many have big gaps because they donāt fit well (especially pleated surgical masks). Those really donāt provide nearly as much protection as a good, properly worn and fitted mask.
Just talking about masked and unmasked isnāt that meaningful with the huge variability of what folks are actually wearing, how consistently, how well it filters and very importantly, how well it FITS.
Duration and frequency of exposure also matter.
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Oh I know that is true but it is still crazy to me! I mean, I was in an area with a lot of out of towners dropping off their freshmen. But even they were not masking. We actually ran into a parent in Target wearing a tshirt from my sonās all make high school 8 hours away. His daughter went to my sonās sister school and she was also a freshman. He, his wife and daughter were not wearing masks in Target, along with the many other families dorm shopping. We also ran into the parents of my sonās suite mate - they were all masked. No surprise, they are from CT.
It isnāt so crazy. Places where vaccination rates are low are more-or-less the same places where resistence to mask-wearing is strong. The two are highly correlated.
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See my post above- I wasnāt really thinking of the locals but all the out of town families we saw in stores, our hotel and restaurants.
I was at the store today. I saw exactly one customer without a mask. Our CT numbers arenāt high but they are climbing and that is the concern. It looks like there will be masks in schoolsā¦again. There is a group pushing back against thisā¦I just donāt get it. The kids were very mask compliant last year.
I think many out-of-towners donāt want to stand out among the locals. What the locals do has an effect on everyone.
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Ha, my health is more important to me than what a bunch of strangers I will never see again might think! I guess my husband and I are in the minority with that reasoning.
We are driving home now and just stopped for a bathroom break at a Chipotle in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains in southwest OH. The Chipotle staff all had masks on. We were the only ones in the whole place wearing masks other than them (at least 8 people in line). I looked up the vax rate in that county - not even 30% in either category - one shot or fully vaxād. The majority of our 8 hour drive is in low vax areas - not until we get back to suburban MD within an hour of home do we reach a high vax area.
EDITING to correct my earlier statement - I meant to say we were in southEAST OH in the foothills of Appalachia, about 30 minutes west of Wheeling, WV.
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My governor has forbidden mask mandates. Our local government in Dallas County has instituted a mask mandate in opposition to the governorās executive order.
I think people are probably now confused about what to do. I went to my local grocery store today and they have a sign up saying āin observance of the local mandate, all customers are required to wear a mask.ā I saw one person not wearing a mask. Every single other person was in compliance. This has been something Iāve observed for a couple of weeks with respect to people just masking up on their own, but today was a very noticeable difference.
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Thatās the case where we are now. Everything related to Covid-19 and its variants is viewed through a political lens and emotions run high. H isnāt very happy with my ramped up online shopping since he deals with the boxes, but I donāt want him going into hardware stores or any place else if we can get what we need delivered. There have been multiple confrontations by aggressive anti-vax/anti-mask people, especially men. I thought that behavior would die down, but it seems worse now.
We drove to Greensboro for dinner and Target shopping and were surprised to find they are back under a mask mandate. NC has been more lax than VA to date. Googling seems to suggest it might be more of a county mandate vs state, but Iām not certain.
Honesty, I prefer the mandate. It takes any guess work out of the āshould I wear one or notā out of the equation. The answer is yes. Compliance isnāt perfect but not terrible. Maybe 75-80%
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I sort of agree with that - take the guess work out of it for some people!
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Both our regular grocery stops, Costco and TJ, had close to 100% masked shoppers and staff. Just a week ago, it was about 50%. The Costco is in a county with a mask mandate as of last Friday; the lady checking cards at the door had a box of masks to give to those shoppers who forgot theirs. The TJ is in a neighboring county that does not yet have a mandate.
My idiot H and S went to a movie maskless with me not home. I am so mad. Yes i am out of town and taking risks , but wearing my masks constantly now. Btw in S. Fl the nearly walmart was about 50 percent masks. I did not stay in there long. Outdoor dining in this humidity is a bear.
Unfortunately, the Home Depot roughly between that Costco and TJ had fewer than half the customers wearing masks this (Sunday) morning. My local QFC was mostly masked people. I think the high vax rates here have people feeling pretty complacent.
I donated blood before running errands, and I really wanted a button that said, āI donated blood and Iām wearing a mask. What are you doing for your neighbors?ā
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I thought Home Depot mandated mask wearing in all its stores.
Hmm. I didnāt pay any attention to signage as I walked into Home Depot. Looks like they are waffling a bit by requesting but not enforcing, at least at this store.
āAugust 02, 2021
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our number one concern has been for the health and safety of our customers and associates. As the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the U.S., beginning August 2, weāll require all associates, contractors and vendors to wear a mask while indoors at all U.S. Home Depot stores, distribution centers, office locations and customersā homes or businesses, regardless of vaccination status. Weāll ask customers to wear masks while in our stores and continue to offer masks to those who donāt have one.ā