Mask situation in your church

[27lw]

Here’s a nice video with footage of how masks do help:
The best part of the demo is 3:10.

 

[Thomas54]

No. The whole point is that if most (or even everyone) is wearing their masks, the theory is that most aeresols will be contained in the masks.

You made me think of what a friend of mine used to say, “it only takes one scoop of poop in a gallon of ice cream to ruin the whole gallon.”

When we’re talking about a contagion, stopping most molecules doesn’t really hack it.

I could be more on board with the mask issue if N95 masks were required. Surgical masks don’t do much and cloth gators do virtually nothing.

Then again, N95 masks have to be worn properly and breathing in them is difficult. I had to wear an N95 at work if I worked around dangerous chemicals. No one with even a hint of respiratory or blood oxygen issues should ever consider wearing an N95 mask. And if you are claustrophobic, forget it.

I spoke to several people at church today and I asked how often they wear their surgical masks and to a person they said “until they wear out.” I imagine that most of our country is doing the same thing, thus reducing their effectiveness.

Also, surgical masks are to be discarded followIng close contact with anyone that may be infected. That would probably mean that after every church service, just to be safe, we should discard a surgical mask.

Thomas

 

[27lw]

Thanks for the apt analogy. Who is the scoop of poop in the ice cream? The person who is infected with covid, doesn’t know it, and is shedding the virus all around.
Nobody knows if or when they are the scoop of poop!
So think of a mask as a little bag surrounding the poop and protecting the ice cream!

 

[ZemD]

Surgical mask, cloth masks, bandanas, and even N95 masks that don’t fit properly are not very effective in stopping you from spreading coronavirus or keeping you from catching it if you’re not also socially distanced indoors.

I’m sorry about the incident that happened to you at mass. I don’t know what happened to us as a society, but we have all seemed to have forgotten that you can only do so much to control another adults behavior, the only person’s behavior you can be in total control of is your own. And that said if you are at high risk or just very concerned it is on you to take the precautions to protect yourself when faced with strangers in public. My husband wears his half face respirator with p100 filters from work and safety goggles everytime he has to go out. Everyone stares at him, but he is at high risk and his health and the risk are his responsibility first.

 

[MrsAngelala]

It seems like it’s assumed that a mask is a mask is a mask. It’s not. I’ve been following the U of Colorado studies, and here’s some actual data on consumer mask effectiveness.

I hope the adrenaline from your situation has abated and you’re feeling a little better now. Our bishop’s ruling is that masks are “recommended.” Our (cheeky) secretary included a blurb in the bulletin reminding parishioners that we’re “not the boss of anyone else.” So far I haven’t seen any confrontations.

However, Father seems to get some complaints. Most people in my church wear masks during Mass, but for other gatherings almost nobody does. He remarked recently that the same people who complain loudest to him about (socially distanced) non-wearers in church will then head right over to the parish hall and sit shoulder-to-shoulder for over an hour, maskless, drinking coffee!

 

[Beryllos]

He remarked recently that the same people who complain loudest to him about (socially distanced) non-wearers in church will then head right over to the parish hall and sit shoulder-to-shoulder for over an hour, maskless, drinking coffee!

My parish avoids that problem by not having coffee gatherings at present.

 

[Poet]

I charitably assume best intentions from people around me.

The world needs a lot more of this. Thank you.

 

[JanR]

It’s a shame these so-called “friends” refused to listen to you when you tried to explain your situation to them. True friends LISTEN. And, true friends are CONSIDERATE of others’ special circumstances. These folks could have just quietly kept their distance without making a ruckus and laying a guilt trip on you. They never were real friends, and you’re better off avoiding them completely.

Let’s hope your pastor is willing to listen and be more reasonable.

 

[Uniquemom]

Your former friends at church were out of line. They are not real Christians if they are making a big deal about this. You should talk to your pastor. Maybe you can go to a different mass where you won’t see them. This mask wearing thing has gotten to be so ridicules.

 

[Bernoulli]

I think increasing breathing resistance to a reasonable degree is healthy. Exercising with restricted breathing makes the body stronger. Athletes actually train at high-altitude camps or use training masks for this reason. Like other kinds of exercise, one shouldn’t do it too much at once.

 

[27lw]

I also think that wearing a mask for an hour or so while people are mainly sitting still isn’t too bad.
Wearing it for eight hours a day while talking and working is a drag, but doable.

 

[27lw]

Your former friends at church were out of line. They are not real Christians if they are making a big deal about this. You should talk to your pastor. Maybe you can go to a different mass where you won’t see them. This mask wearing thing has gotten to be so ridicules.

Really? Not real Christians? Seems kind of harsh.

 

[Thomas54]

So think of a mask as a little bag surrounding the poop and protecting the ice cream!

In my analogy, the poop would be the one virus molecule that made it through the mask & contaminated someone, the ice cream.

IMO, since we have hundreds of trillions of viruses in our bodies at any given time, (Meet the trillions of viruses that make up your virome | Human World | EarthSky) the best defense against any virus is to stay young and have a top notch immune system.

Since we obviously can’t do that chronologically, the best way to do it is to eat right and that means not the SAD (standard American Diet) and keep a good weight and exercise and get a good night’s sleep.

We’re an obese nation and that does not help anyone’s survival chances for Covid or any disease.

Thomas

 

[Anesti33]

I hope you realize that the infectiousness of diseases depends on the quantity of viruses which are transmitted. The viral load in the air, and in the respiratory passages of people, can vary, and there are reputable studies which show that people exposed to a low viral load can have reduced symptoms and milder cases of COVID-19 than those who are on the receiving end of a massive quantity of virus.

Furthermore, it is well-known that a small viral load may not even result in an infection, so someone receiving negligible amounts of the virus may never develop a diagnosible case.

 

[27lw]

27lw:

So think of a mask as a little bag surrounding the poop and protecting the ice cream!

In my analogy, the poop would be the one virus molecule that made it through the mask & contaminated someone, the ice cream.

Hmm - so when would more poop be present in the ice cream – when one virus molecule gets through the mask, or when there are lots of virus molecules that don’t have to struggle to get through a mask at all?

 

[Beryllos]

I think we’ve drifted off the original topic.

 

[Thomas54]

Two doctors out in California put out such a video on YouTube and Instagram and Twitter and after a quick 5 million views, they were shut down. It did not fit the Narrative. You can google and find it.

We’ve all come a long way from my original question about how your church is handling the wearing of masks so I want to make this statement:

If you want to wear a mask, by all means that is your right. I would not encourage anyone to stop doing what they are comfortable with and what they believe will help their personal health.

With that being said, remember that we are a nation of individuals with constitutional rights and protections and we should not force our perceptions of reality on our fellow parishioners or neighbors. They have enough trouble dealing with their own perceptions.

2 + 2 does not equal 5,

Thomas

 

[Thomas54]

Hmm - so when would more poop be present in the ice cream – when one virus molecule gets through the mask, or when there are lots of virus molecules that don’t have to struggle to get through

Oddly, the way that you phrased your question made me think of conception.

Anyway, I guess it depends on the proximity of the ice cream to the poop & the wind speed & direction.

 

[27lw]

It’s your thread, so by all means have the last word. I can’t help but think that you seem to give a lot of credence to alternative science YouTube videos, nor do you seem to understand the basic reason for wearing a mask.
Good luck to you, and anyone who ends up being near you.
I for one am going to avoid large gatherings more as we get into cold, flu, and covid season.

 

[PaulinVA]

With that being said, remember that we are a nation of individuals with constitutional rights and protections and we should not force our perceptions of reality on our fellow parishioners or neighbors.

That seems extremely relativist.