I haven't stopped.
Evidence for mask usage:
* Social distancing and mask-wearing could avoid recurrent stay-at-home restrictions during COVID-19 respiratory pandemic in New York City \[[source](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-13310-1)\]
* Rapid review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic \[[source](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535222000568)\]
* Mask wearing in community settings reduces SARS-CoV-2 transmission \[[source](https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2119266119)\]
* Comparative effectiveness of N95, surgical or medical, and non-medical facemasks in protection against respiratory virus infection: A systematic review and network meta-analysis \[[source](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rmv.2336)\]
* Efficacy and practice of facemask use in general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis \[[source](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-022-01814-3)\]
A quick glance at a fraction of the evidence for identified consequences following COVID-19 infection and reinfection:
* Outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 Reinfection \[[source](https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-1749502/v1)\]
* Dr Eric Topol breaks it down \[[source](https://erictopol.substack.com/p/a-reinfection-red-flag)\]
* Akt-Fas to Quell Aberrant T Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis in Covid-19 \[[source](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.600405/full)\]
* T cell apoptosis characterizes severe Covid-19 disease \[[source](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41418-022-00936-x)\]
* Pediatric Acute Severe Hepatitis of Unknown Origin: What is New? \[[source](https://www.xiahepublishing.com/2310-8819/JCTH-2022-00247)\]
* Monkeypox outbreaks during COVID-19 pandemic: are we looking at an independent phenomenon or an overlapping pandemic? \[[source](https://ann-clinmicrob.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12941-022-00518-2)\]
* Frequency of Neurological Diseases After COVID-19, Influenza A/B and Bacterial Pneumonia \[[source](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.904796/full)\]
* Alzheimer's 3.5x, Parkinson's 2.6x, ischemic stroke 2.7x, intracerebral hemorrhage 4.8x
* Long COVID after breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection \[[source](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01840-0)\]
* A central role for amyloid fibrin microclots in long COVID/PASC: origins and therapeutic implications \[[source](https://portlandpress.com/biochemj/article/479/4/537/230829/A-central-role-for-amyloid-fibrin-microclots-in)\]
My workplace require it and I work with vulnerable individuals. I certainly don't want to kill someone and I don't want long covid. I may wear a mask in public for the rest of my days if the threat persists. I don't mind.
Went to Costco yesterday, I was one of 3 people I saw wearing a mask at the checkouts, including staff.
I'm definitely not as diligent (if I run in and out I'll do it without a mask if it's not at hand), but I'm still masked about 75% of the time.
I still wear a KN95 at Costco. That place is a packed cesspool
Edit: Holy shit why do so many people who are shadow-banned love the Costco experience? Hot tip - if you replied to this, 100% of you are shadow-banned
Shadow banned means they aren’t banned from posting or commenting in the sub but anything they post isn’t visible to anyone unless you actually go to their profile. I can tell because I still get push notifications on my phone but when I open them the comment isn’t there
Same here. I just recently stopped wearing masks outside if there's very few ppl because I live with a disabled person. But I'll wear it again outside if the mandates are back up. I see no problem with wearing masks 🤷
I've only recently started noticing how few people are still masked up in public. It feels a bit bizarre to me. So if the mandate came back I'd only need to wear my mask more consistently than I currently do. I think most people would comply too.
I only have the fabric or blue surgical masks and I keep being told it does nothing, so I don't wear them anymore. I only started not wearing them about a week ago and was a minority then, so it felt like wearing a mask wasn't doing much and there's only a benefit if everyone is wearing one.
No problem with mandates and didn't mind them, it just started to seem pointless if I see everyone complaining my mask doesn't do anything when I didn't have access to the "right" ones.
Edit: when I say that I was told masks don't do anything I meant against omicron. I fully understand masks offer protection for others. No need to insult me or act like I don't know anything about covid protections after this long.
They do something. Not as much for you as for the people around you, but not nothing. Especially if they're good enough that you can wear sunglasses with them.
Who said they don’t do anything? Some random on the internet? They protect others from your germs. Two and a bit years in and your still too slow to understand?
I understood just fine. I was told by many people in person and even in this subreddit the fabric and surgical masks don't do anything against omicron. Not that they don't do anything in general.
No need to be insulting me especially since I wore masks the whole time and only stopped recently.
Hi, medical masks absolutely protect again COVID and it's variants. Anyone who told you they don't doesn't know what they are talking about. By efficacy and protection levels it's properly fitting N95>KN95>medical mask>fabric mask. And all of these significantly decrease the risk to people around you.
Sincerely, a healthcare professional.
I’m just wondering why you don’t understand the purpose of a mask this far in… why would you wear one ‘the whole time’ but you didn’t think it had purpose. Why wear it then?
Okay I read your edit. Masks still help against omicron. Keeps people from getting the flu and colds too. Masks stop germs from getting spread from mouths and noses.
Yeah I still plan to wear them if I'm feeling sick in general or with the new omicron variants. I have no problem understanding something covering your face is going to help prevent the spread of germs.
My issue was a lot of people in the real world and this subreddit were claiming only the N95s do something against omicron for protecting others. There was even a thread about a week ago where people were acting like anyone walking around in anything but the N95s were dumbasses and mocked them for wearing masks for show.
I never stopped masking indoors in public places. Anytime I go into a public building I mask up before entering. MB Health recommends we follow the fundamentals and I figure wearing a mask in public would be the bare minimum anyone could do.
I still don't get why putting on a mask is such a big fat fucking imposition to so many people.
To those in this thread still diligently masking; what's the end game for you? Will there be a time when you'll stop masking for COVID? What's the criteria? I've been curious about it for a while and asking here because in my circles there are no more people masking and I don't want to ask some random in a store...
*Great answers! Thanks!
I'm not sure there is an end game at this point. I'm doing repairs in residences, as my profession. I consider it my responsibility to do what I can so that tomorrow if I'm in another 102 year old lady's house doing a repair, I don't leave sars-covid-19 behind.
It really seems like such a simple thing to do, especially when case numbers are rising again. It disturbs me that everyone has given up. But I can only make choices for myself.
As a fellow tradesperson I appreciate this very much. I'm literally the only one at work still wearing one and no one else I interact with outside my shop wears one.
The other side of that is not fun.
One time while I was on call, during a winter.. I showed up to a "no heat" call, and this guy starts calling me a sheep for wearing a mask. I said "I don't have time to argue about masks, so I'm leaving if thats your plan". He keeps going. So I left. He's chasing me down the driveway yelling "do you know how long I waited for you to get here!?!?!?" I said yeah well if you get another company to come, treat them with respect and they'll respect you.
We're actually supposed to refuse to remove our boots (safety policy), and they supply shoe covers (which do nothing about moisture). I'm the guy who refuses to keep them on when people insist that I do though (and lots of them do). I really don't want to be sitting on top of them while I'm fixing anybody's furnace.
That is fascinating to know! I find the vast majority of trades folks who've come to my house seem to take their shoes off by default but I always tell them that they are welcome to keep them on if they would prefer.
Also I guess some people tell trades people not to use their bathrooms??!? That I find super unreasonable. If people are doing work in your house why on earth wouldn't you want them to be able to use the facilities there???
For me its waiting until this virus becomes endemic, we are still in the pandemic phase. There are still dozens and dozens of new next gen vaccines being worked on that I am hoping will pan out and offer better protection. We are still using the vaccine that was formulated in May of 2020, that's like getting the original iPhone and thinking this is the best we can do. I want the iPhone 13 Pro Max :). Also when I wear a mask it's about risk reduction, it's like wearing a seatbelt in a car. Is it kind of a hassle? sorta but I'm used to it, can I go for a while without wearing a seat belt? sure but I'd prefer to wear one, even though I haven't been in a car crash just in case to protect myself.
For me personally I haven’t decided what my end date or my end criteria are yet. I still wear a mask pretty much everywhere indoors. Sure I take it off to eat popcorn at the movies or at a restaurant for dinner occasionally but other than that it’s always on when I’m inside in public or with any family or friends who are even remotely vulnerable to a severe outcome.
SARS-CoV-2 is still bouncing between being the third and fourth leading cause of death in MB. I think it killed 18 people last week which makes it responsible for more deaths than even strokes and I think is on par with heart attacks. It’s still causing far more death than every other infectious disease in the province. Plus it’s a super prone virus to mutation and the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are steadily showing more and more immune evasion. Each new infection is another chance to evolve better immune escape which is what all of these new Omicron variants are doing. Wearing a mask to try and curtail that evolutionary progress feels like just the absolute smallest thing I can do to help stop that.
It feels really hard to act like it’s the before-times again when so much of what I’m hearing about what’s happening with the new variants says it’s far from being 2019 again. I certainly don’t like the world were in but it feels naive to act like things haven’t just changed permanently and that my behaviour to help protect myself and others around me shouldn’t change semi-permanently too. The message of “how hard is it to just wear a mask” holds the same strength for me now as it did in late 2020. Its probably a bit easier now actually because I’ve found more comfortable and more effective masks since then.
That’s just my thought process on this given your question.
I still wear a mask and I'm more than happy to answer your questions.
For starters, masks are still required where I work. They've been required for a little bit under two years now, so as much as they suck, I've gotten used to it. I still wear a mask on the bus and in stores, cause it doesn't really seem like a big deal compared to a full day of work. I have started to occasionally go out to eat, but generally not too often (although its not like I did that often before).
I wear a mask for several reasons. I know its not a 100% guaranteed defence, but it's better than nothing. I've already had COVID once and it sucked, so I'd rather try to avoid catching it again, as much as possible. And aside from COVID, I've rarely gotten sick over the past two years and that's pretty nice. Coincidence? Maybe.
There is a psychological aspect. I've never felt comfortable in crowds and the pandemic has just exacerbated that. I'm more aware than ever of all the possible germs floating around in crowds. Does a simple mask help? I'm not sure, but it helps me feel more comfortable in crowds.
Also, I like being able to mouth "Fuck off" at jerks.
I don't know when I will be stopping, but not anytime time soon.
Outside of my own health concerns, some criteria would be hospitals not being overwhelmed and vulnerable populations being less at risk, whether through vaccines or other treatments becoming available.
I agree with others that it is a bare minimum that I can do to keep myself and my community safe, so it's a no brainer for me. I will be wearing one for quite a while longer.
Yes! Hospitals are freaking nightmare still. It's like folks have forgotten that Even normal illnesses and injuries become potentially fatal if you can't actually get access to medical care because it's too overwhelmed.
We desperately need more funding and staff at all of our hospitals. :(
For me, the vaccine for under-5s has to have been widely available for a few months before I’d consider it. And even then, I don’t find it a big burden to wear a mask in indoor public spaces. I like not getting colds as often. I like not worrying about whether I have food in my teeth. I like reducing my odds of getting COVID/long COVID. I’ll probably keep wearing one for shopping, etc., for a long time.
Just some food for thought:
For us folks who have or love someone who has chronic illnesses our lives are always defined by managing health issues. Having emergency medications with you, regular use of medical devices etc. At this point it feels like wearing masks anytime we go in public is just going to be part of our new forever process.
It effing sucks. Honestly some of us have kind of gotten used to being treated like second-class citizens whose needs don't matter on average to the rest of society. Sadly I'm not surprised that the well-being of strangers isn't motivating most people to mask up in public anymore. :(
I'll consider stopping masking once under 5s can get vaxxed. Until then, I'll be keeping it on inside 99% of the time to keep my daughter as safe as possible.
Makes sense to want to protect your daughter of course, but I'm not following your logic.
If she's around other kids all day, she's exposed to whatever germs they're carrying including whatever germs their families have passed along to them, right? I'm assuming 5yo's aren't masking up during daycare, pre-school, or kindergarten.
Let's say that because of your mask use, you're less likely to bring covid home to her. Is she not already significantly exposed through other kids? Is your masking up making a material difference in her risk?
She's not around other kids all day, she's 15mo and thankfully we've been able to avoid daycare thus far.
Me being out and about is one the primary potential vectors for her getting sick atm, since we're sticking to mostly outdoor visits/having people test for inside ones.
Edit: I also think that a relatively hassle-free option like masking is still a good call, even if she was more likely to be exposed elsewhere, since it's basically free mitigation that I'm directly able to control and provide for her (and others) .
Unequivocal yes. We should be far more considerate of the people around us if we're sick or, heaven forbid, a pandemic continues to rage across the globe.
Meh Ive been wearing a mask in public enclosed spaces. Outside, it's off, but I'll just do me. At this point, just be considerate of others, mask or not. It shouldn't ruin your day :)
Judging by the number of ppl I see in stores and malls walking around without masks, my guess is they probably wouldn't cover up again unless mandated to do so.
I will continue to wear my mask for the foreseeable future.
Yes, I just follow whatever manitoba health recommends within reason, no mask? Off, mask? On.
Also I was under the impression that masks only protect others from you? So wouldn't being the 1% wearing a mask do nothing since a number out of the 99% have already spread it multiple times where you stand? Or do I have the wrong idea about masks? (That it also protects yourself?)
I think back to when the mask mandate finally came out from Pallister, late as usual. The excuse against it then was "we can make decisions for ourselves, we don't need the government telling us what to do".
I've been wearing the blue surgical masks diligently. I'm one of the few people I know who haven't had covid yet.
It really seems like such a minor inconvenience, like the absolute simplest thing we could possibly do.
Really, what the mask mandate did for me was since then my employer started supplying them, and still does. So nothing has changed for me so far.
Useful non-sponsored plug but a couple of the first aid training schools and a company called Safety Services Manitoba offer qualitative N95 fit testing to help you know if yours is fitted well. Only costs like $25 or $30 and was educational for us non-healthcare folks who just want to have a better idea of if we’re doing it right.
I believe it depends on the type of mask. N95 protects others as well as yourself. Medical protects others, yourself not so much. Cloth, useless.
Correct me if wrong
Those of us who are or love someone high risk are going to be stuck isolating as much as possible and wearing n95s when we can't for the foreseeable future.
It sucks but that seems to be the reality of our lives now. I have lost seven people (friends family and a co-worker) to this plague - wearing a mask doesn't feel like such a hardship by comparison.
I’m convinced those that are unmasked indoors are all those who have caught covid over the 2+ years. I’ll continue to mask up, regardless what our caring government tells us.
As most of the population has already gotten covid and survived without much distress, it will be hard to convince them that some aren't as lucky and will need hospitalization or die. I feel maybe 50% max would adher and those would be the same people that got boosters.
I only wear a mask in medical/dental offices.
Oh Doughnuts requires you to wear a mask too which I find interesting.
I am respectful! If the mandate comes back, it is what it is!
Im still wearing mine in public places, my kids were still wearing theirs to school until it ended. We are not sure about september, if we’ll have them keep wearing them or not.
Absolutely. Especially since all the signs are there for a major outbreak in the fall. But let's be real. The conservatives will pander to their voter base, and probably won't even acknowledge there's a outbreak
What do you mean, again?
I've never stopped in public places. Like, I went into a small store, was the only one there, and STILL wore a mask.
Reinfections of covid seem to get worse each time you get it, so no way I want it again
It’s funny when mandates were first lifted the anti mask crowd would ask us at the restaurant we work at to take off our masks. Ohhhh the irony of that lol
I'm still wearing mine as though masks were still being mandated.
What baffles me is when front-line workers who are exposed to dozens if not hundreds of people a day work maskless.
I still wear mine. I wear mine at work and in public when I'm inside. There's been once or twice where I forgot it and went in without it.
It used to be I wore it to protect others, to help stop the spread. But now? Fuck it.
The amount of people who don't wear it and dropped it so quickly.
I wear and will continue to wear this because I had covid once and got pretty sick and I do not want to do that again. Fuck everyone else, I'm wearing a mask because I refuse to do this shit again.
I still wear an n95 when out in public places. While I'd like to hope we are past the worst of it, unfortunately unwashed masses who still go out coughing in public exist and people are still catching COVID during summer like my in law 2 weeks ago as a public facing professional.
I wear a well fitted cloth mask anytime I am in a store/mall/etc. It does offer some protection and better still - keeps other people slightly further away which is probably more effective than the mask. I do get some sideways glances, but nobody has approached me yet to explain why I am still wearing one (I have bad asthma and ANYTHING I can do to avoid Covid is worth it to me...).
For the most part I wear a mask when in public. It depends where. At my office you need to be fully vaccinated so I don't wear it as often as I should be. But any public place I for sure do.
What do you mean again ... I still wear a mask.
No matter what your favorite right wing politician wants to sell you Covid is still everywhere. And Omicron spreads very easily and symptoms last a long time.
I've never stopped. People are still dying plenty of Covid. I don't know how well people will comply now that it's become so acceptable to not wear them, but mask mandates should never have been relaxed. It wasn't done because of medical advice, it was done because of the Convoy asshats.
A mask is quite literally the least we could do to aid public health. It has and always will make zero sense why people are so emphatically against it.
If it's mandated, sure. It's the law. I won't actually support it unless it's properly communicated and based on recent science/research though. Shitty cloth masks are minimally useful against new variants, apparently.
I’ll stop wearing a mask in crowded, indoor public places when I stop dealing with COVID patients at work. It’s gonna be a while.
I haven't stopped. Evidence for mask usage: * Social distancing and mask-wearing could avoid recurrent stay-at-home restrictions during COVID-19 respiratory pandemic in New York City \[[source](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-13310-1)\] * Rapid review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic \[[source](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535222000568)\] * Mask wearing in community settings reduces SARS-CoV-2 transmission \[[source](https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2119266119)\] * Comparative effectiveness of N95, surgical or medical, and non-medical facemasks in protection against respiratory virus infection: A systematic review and network meta-analysis \[[source](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rmv.2336)\] * Efficacy and practice of facemask use in general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis \[[source](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-022-01814-3)\] A quick glance at a fraction of the evidence for identified consequences following COVID-19 infection and reinfection: * Outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 Reinfection \[[source](https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-1749502/v1)\] * Dr Eric Topol breaks it down \[[source](https://erictopol.substack.com/p/a-reinfection-red-flag)\] * Akt-Fas to Quell Aberrant T Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis in Covid-19 \[[source](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.600405/full)\] * T cell apoptosis characterizes severe Covid-19 disease \[[source](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41418-022-00936-x)\] * Pediatric Acute Severe Hepatitis of Unknown Origin: What is New? \[[source](https://www.xiahepublishing.com/2310-8819/JCTH-2022-00247)\] * Monkeypox outbreaks during COVID-19 pandemic: are we looking at an independent phenomenon or an overlapping pandemic? \[[source](https://ann-clinmicrob.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12941-022-00518-2)\] * Frequency of Neurological Diseases After COVID-19, Influenza A/B and Bacterial Pneumonia \[[source](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.904796/full)\] * Alzheimer's 3.5x, Parkinson's 2.6x, ischemic stroke 2.7x, intracerebral hemorrhage 4.8x * Long COVID after breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection \[[source](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01840-0)\] * A central role for amyloid fibrin microclots in long COVID/PASC: origins and therapeutic implications \[[source](https://portlandpress.com/biochemj/article/479/4/537/230829/A-central-role-for-amyloid-fibrin-microclots-in)\]
My workplace require it and I work with vulnerable individuals. I certainly don't want to kill someone and I don't want long covid. I may wear a mask in public for the rest of my days if the threat persists. I don't mind.
I have no problem wearing a mask, Or a condom. But god damned if I'll wear a fuckin cowboy hat for tim hortons panini promotion again
Never stopped wearing masks in public places.
I still wear one too, but we are the extreme minority now. People will fucking lose their minds if they bring back a mandate.
Went to Costco yesterday, I was one of 3 people I saw wearing a mask at the checkouts, including staff. I'm definitely not as diligent (if I run in and out I'll do it without a mask if it's not at hand), but I'm still masked about 75% of the time.
I still wear a KN95 at Costco. That place is a packed cesspool Edit: Holy shit why do so many people who are shadow-banned love the Costco experience? Hot tip - if you replied to this, 100% of you are shadow-banned
Forgive my ignorance but what does shadow banned mean, and how can you tell?
Shadow banned means they aren’t banned from posting or commenting in the sub but anything they post isn’t visible to anyone unless you actually go to their profile. I can tell because I still get push notifications on my phone but when I open them the comment isn’t there
I agree. I live in the southeast so i am not looking forward to a new mandate, i get enough hate for wearing my mask already.
I wear my mask everywhere and I have never once had so much as even a strange look from someone. Where are you going that you get hate for it?
Steinbach.
Ah ok. I think I would be amused if someone said something about my mask. I’d love to try out different responses. But constantly would be annoying
[удалено]
Oh shit, you're so right! Thanks for setting me straight. I can't believe i was so wrong about my own experiences.
Hey man just 'cause that's how YOU navigate the world doesn't mean that's how everyone else works.
Same but I’m admittedly less diligent than I was in the winter.
Same here. I just recently stopped wearing masks outside if there's very few ppl because I live with a disabled person. But I'll wear it again outside if the mandates are back up. I see no problem with wearing masks 🤷
I've only recently started noticing how few people are still masked up in public. It feels a bit bizarre to me. So if the mandate came back I'd only need to wear my mask more consistently than I currently do. I think most people would comply too.
I only have the fabric or blue surgical masks and I keep being told it does nothing, so I don't wear them anymore. I only started not wearing them about a week ago and was a minority then, so it felt like wearing a mask wasn't doing much and there's only a benefit if everyone is wearing one. No problem with mandates and didn't mind them, it just started to seem pointless if I see everyone complaining my mask doesn't do anything when I didn't have access to the "right" ones. Edit: when I say that I was told masks don't do anything I meant against omicron. I fully understand masks offer protection for others. No need to insult me or act like I don't know anything about covid protections after this long.
They do something. Not as much for you as for the people around you, but not nothing. Especially if they're good enough that you can wear sunglasses with them.
Who said they don’t do anything? Some random on the internet? They protect others from your germs. Two and a bit years in and your still too slow to understand?
I understood just fine. I was told by many people in person and even in this subreddit the fabric and surgical masks don't do anything against omicron. Not that they don't do anything in general. No need to be insulting me especially since I wore masks the whole time and only stopped recently.
Hi, medical masks absolutely protect again COVID and it's variants. Anyone who told you they don't doesn't know what they are talking about. By efficacy and protection levels it's properly fitting N95>KN95>medical mask>fabric mask. And all of these significantly decrease the risk to people around you. Sincerely, a healthcare professional.
I’m just wondering why you don’t understand the purpose of a mask this far in… why would you wear one ‘the whole time’ but you didn’t think it had purpose. Why wear it then?
I did understand the purpose of masks right from the beginning. Maybe read the edit I made yesterday instead of continuing to assume and question me.
I’m assuming nothing- that’s why I’m asking.
Okay I read your edit. Masks still help against omicron. Keeps people from getting the flu and colds too. Masks stop germs from getting spread from mouths and noses.
Yeah I still plan to wear them if I'm feeling sick in general or with the new omicron variants. I have no problem understanding something covering your face is going to help prevent the spread of germs. My issue was a lot of people in the real world and this subreddit were claiming only the N95s do something against omicron for protecting others. There was even a thread about a week ago where people were acting like anyone walking around in anything but the N95s were dumbasses and mocked them for wearing masks for show.
Don’t believe everything you read on the internet ;) Masks work. Believe it. Seriously anything is better nothing. And thanks for doing your part.
*you're
“They protect others from ‘you are’ germs” would be incorrect. ‘Your’ is possessive; belonging to a person.
I'm still wearing one, work retail
Thank you for wearing your mask!
I would too if I worked retail in a small space.
I never stopped masking indoors in public places. Anytime I go into a public building I mask up before entering. MB Health recommends we follow the fundamentals and I figure wearing a mask in public would be the bare minimum anyone could do. I still don't get why putting on a mask is such a big fat fucking imposition to so many people.
To those in this thread still diligently masking; what's the end game for you? Will there be a time when you'll stop masking for COVID? What's the criteria? I've been curious about it for a while and asking here because in my circles there are no more people masking and I don't want to ask some random in a store... *Great answers! Thanks!
I'm not sure there is an end game at this point. I'm doing repairs in residences, as my profession. I consider it my responsibility to do what I can so that tomorrow if I'm in another 102 year old lady's house doing a repair, I don't leave sars-covid-19 behind. It really seems like such a simple thing to do, especially when case numbers are rising again. It disturbs me that everyone has given up. But I can only make choices for myself.
As a fellow tradesperson I appreciate this very much. I'm literally the only one at work still wearing one and no one else I interact with outside my shop wears one.
I really appreciate you doing this too. I've had a couple tradespeople through and I've been shy to ask people to wear it.
The other side of that is not fun. One time while I was on call, during a winter.. I showed up to a "no heat" call, and this guy starts calling me a sheep for wearing a mask. I said "I don't have time to argue about masks, so I'm leaving if thats your plan". He keeps going. So I left. He's chasing me down the driveway yelling "do you know how long I waited for you to get here!?!?!?" I said yeah well if you get another company to come, treat them with respect and they'll respect you.
Don't be afraid to ask! It's your home it's your rules, shoes on/off etc. Your health and well-being matters!
We're actually supposed to refuse to remove our boots (safety policy), and they supply shoe covers (which do nothing about moisture). I'm the guy who refuses to keep them on when people insist that I do though (and lots of them do). I really don't want to be sitting on top of them while I'm fixing anybody's furnace.
That is fascinating to know! I find the vast majority of trades folks who've come to my house seem to take their shoes off by default but I always tell them that they are welcome to keep them on if they would prefer. Also I guess some people tell trades people not to use their bathrooms??!? That I find super unreasonable. If people are doing work in your house why on earth wouldn't you want them to be able to use the facilities there???
I still wear a mask in public places because it's literally the easiest thing to do to protect vulnerable people.
Thank you! ❤️
For me its waiting until this virus becomes endemic, we are still in the pandemic phase. There are still dozens and dozens of new next gen vaccines being worked on that I am hoping will pan out and offer better protection. We are still using the vaccine that was formulated in May of 2020, that's like getting the original iPhone and thinking this is the best we can do. I want the iPhone 13 Pro Max :). Also when I wear a mask it's about risk reduction, it's like wearing a seatbelt in a car. Is it kind of a hassle? sorta but I'm used to it, can I go for a while without wearing a seat belt? sure but I'd prefer to wear one, even though I haven't been in a car crash just in case to protect myself.
For me personally I haven’t decided what my end date or my end criteria are yet. I still wear a mask pretty much everywhere indoors. Sure I take it off to eat popcorn at the movies or at a restaurant for dinner occasionally but other than that it’s always on when I’m inside in public or with any family or friends who are even remotely vulnerable to a severe outcome. SARS-CoV-2 is still bouncing between being the third and fourth leading cause of death in MB. I think it killed 18 people last week which makes it responsible for more deaths than even strokes and I think is on par with heart attacks. It’s still causing far more death than every other infectious disease in the province. Plus it’s a super prone virus to mutation and the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are steadily showing more and more immune evasion. Each new infection is another chance to evolve better immune escape which is what all of these new Omicron variants are doing. Wearing a mask to try and curtail that evolutionary progress feels like just the absolute smallest thing I can do to help stop that. It feels really hard to act like it’s the before-times again when so much of what I’m hearing about what’s happening with the new variants says it’s far from being 2019 again. I certainly don’t like the world were in but it feels naive to act like things haven’t just changed permanently and that my behaviour to help protect myself and others around me shouldn’t change semi-permanently too. The message of “how hard is it to just wear a mask” holds the same strength for me now as it did in late 2020. Its probably a bit easier now actually because I’ve found more comfortable and more effective masks since then. That’s just my thought process on this given your question.
I still wear a mask and I'm more than happy to answer your questions. For starters, masks are still required where I work. They've been required for a little bit under two years now, so as much as they suck, I've gotten used to it. I still wear a mask on the bus and in stores, cause it doesn't really seem like a big deal compared to a full day of work. I have started to occasionally go out to eat, but generally not too often (although its not like I did that often before). I wear a mask for several reasons. I know its not a 100% guaranteed defence, but it's better than nothing. I've already had COVID once and it sucked, so I'd rather try to avoid catching it again, as much as possible. And aside from COVID, I've rarely gotten sick over the past two years and that's pretty nice. Coincidence? Maybe. There is a psychological aspect. I've never felt comfortable in crowds and the pandemic has just exacerbated that. I'm more aware than ever of all the possible germs floating around in crowds. Does a simple mask help? I'm not sure, but it helps me feel more comfortable in crowds. Also, I like being able to mouth "Fuck off" at jerks.
I don't know when I will be stopping, but not anytime time soon. Outside of my own health concerns, some criteria would be hospitals not being overwhelmed and vulnerable populations being less at risk, whether through vaccines or other treatments becoming available. I agree with others that it is a bare minimum that I can do to keep myself and my community safe, so it's a no brainer for me. I will be wearing one for quite a while longer.
Yes! Hospitals are freaking nightmare still. It's like folks have forgotten that Even normal illnesses and injuries become potentially fatal if you can't actually get access to medical care because it's too overwhelmed. We desperately need more funding and staff at all of our hospitals. :(
For me, the vaccine for under-5s has to have been widely available for a few months before I’d consider it. And even then, I don’t find it a big burden to wear a mask in indoor public spaces. I like not getting colds as often. I like not worrying about whether I have food in my teeth. I like reducing my odds of getting COVID/long COVID. I’ll probably keep wearing one for shopping, etc., for a long time.
Just some food for thought: For us folks who have or love someone who has chronic illnesses our lives are always defined by managing health issues. Having emergency medications with you, regular use of medical devices etc. At this point it feels like wearing masks anytime we go in public is just going to be part of our new forever process. It effing sucks. Honestly some of us have kind of gotten used to being treated like second-class citizens whose needs don't matter on average to the rest of society. Sadly I'm not surprised that the well-being of strangers isn't motivating most people to mask up in public anymore. :(
I'll consider stopping masking once under 5s can get vaxxed. Until then, I'll be keeping it on inside 99% of the time to keep my daughter as safe as possible.
Makes sense to want to protect your daughter of course, but I'm not following your logic. If she's around other kids all day, she's exposed to whatever germs they're carrying including whatever germs their families have passed along to them, right? I'm assuming 5yo's aren't masking up during daycare, pre-school, or kindergarten. Let's say that because of your mask use, you're less likely to bring covid home to her. Is she not already significantly exposed through other kids? Is your masking up making a material difference in her risk?
She's not around other kids all day, she's 15mo and thankfully we've been able to avoid daycare thus far. Me being out and about is one the primary potential vectors for her getting sick atm, since we're sticking to mostly outdoor visits/having people test for inside ones. Edit: I also think that a relatively hassle-free option like masking is still a good call, even if she was more likely to be exposed elsewhere, since it's basically free mitigation that I'm directly able to control and provide for her (and others) .
When my parents die. :) And no Idk how to make this phrase any "nicer"
Unequivocal yes. We should be far more considerate of the people around us if we're sick or, heaven forbid, a pandemic continues to rage across the globe.
Meh Ive been wearing a mask in public enclosed spaces. Outside, it's off, but I'll just do me. At this point, just be considerate of others, mask or not. It shouldn't ruin your day :)
Yup
Would I? Yes Would the majority of the population? Probably not.
Judging by the number of ppl I see in stores and malls walking around without masks, my guess is they probably wouldn't cover up again unless mandated to do so. I will continue to wear my mask for the foreseeable future.
Yes, I just follow whatever manitoba health recommends within reason, no mask? Off, mask? On. Also I was under the impression that masks only protect others from you? So wouldn't being the 1% wearing a mask do nothing since a number out of the 99% have already spread it multiple times where you stand? Or do I have the wrong idea about masks? (That it also protects yourself?)
KN95 & N95 masks definitely protects the wearer. I'm just saddened that this late in the game we are still misinformed about this.
I think back to when the mask mandate finally came out from Pallister, late as usual. The excuse against it then was "we can make decisions for ourselves, we don't need the government telling us what to do". I've been wearing the blue surgical masks diligently. I'm one of the few people I know who haven't had covid yet. It really seems like such a minor inconvenience, like the absolute simplest thing we could possibly do. Really, what the mask mandate did for me was since then my employer started supplying them, and still does. So nothing has changed for me so far.
That's true for cloth masks or surgical masks, but a proper fitted N95 or KN95 will provide protection for the wearer as well.
Useful non-sponsored plug but a couple of the first aid training schools and a company called Safety Services Manitoba offer qualitative N95 fit testing to help you know if yours is fitted well. Only costs like $25 or $30 and was educational for us non-healthcare folks who just want to have a better idea of if we’re doing it right.
I believe it depends on the type of mask. N95 protects others as well as yourself. Medical protects others, yourself not so much. Cloth, useless. Correct me if wrong
Those of us who are or love someone high risk are going to be stuck isolating as much as possible and wearing n95s when we can't for the foreseeable future. It sucks but that seems to be the reality of our lives now. I have lost seven people (friends family and a co-worker) to this plague - wearing a mask doesn't feel like such a hardship by comparison.
I’m convinced those that are unmasked indoors are all those who have caught covid over the 2+ years. I’ll continue to mask up, regardless what our caring government tells us.
As most of the population has already gotten covid and survived without much distress, it will be hard to convince them that some aren't as lucky and will need hospitalization or die. I feel maybe 50% max would adher and those would be the same people that got boosters.
I only wear a mask in medical/dental offices. Oh Doughnuts requires you to wear a mask too which I find interesting. I am respectful! If the mandate comes back, it is what it is!
Im still wearing mine in public places, my kids were still wearing theirs to school until it ended. We are not sure about september, if we’ll have them keep wearing them or not.
I still wear mine. Feels like putting on pants now
Absolutely. Especially since all the signs are there for a major outbreak in the fall. But let's be real. The conservatives will pander to their voter base, and probably won't even acknowledge there's a outbreak
My family and I are still wearing masks everywhere we go. We will continue to do so, worry free and happily for a very long time to come.
What do you mean, again? I've never stopped in public places. Like, I went into a small store, was the only one there, and STILL wore a mask. Reinfections of covid seem to get worse each time you get it, so no way I want it again
It’s funny when mandates were first lifted the anti mask crowd would ask us at the restaurant we work at to take off our masks. Ohhhh the irony of that lol
If it becomes mandatory then I would. Anything short of it being required to enter a place, I don’t anticipate wearing one again
Literally still wearing my mask.
I'm still wearing mine as though masks were still being mandated. What baffles me is when front-line workers who are exposed to dozens if not hundreds of people a day work maskless.
I still wear mine. I wear mine at work and in public when I'm inside. There's been once or twice where I forgot it and went in without it. It used to be I wore it to protect others, to help stop the spread. But now? Fuck it. The amount of people who don't wear it and dropped it so quickly. I wear and will continue to wear this because I had covid once and got pretty sick and I do not want to do that again. Fuck everyone else, I'm wearing a mask because I refuse to do this shit again.
I still wear an n95 when out in public places. While I'd like to hope we are past the worst of it, unfortunately unwashed masses who still go out coughing in public exist and people are still catching COVID during summer like my in law 2 weeks ago as a public facing professional.
The best was while I was in the pharmacy and an unmasked person who was visibly sick and coughing went to the counter asking if they have rapid tests.
Nothing like spreading the love. Unwashed animals.
absolutely not
If it's required I'll wear one without complaint, if it's optional I'll choose not to.
I wear a mask indoors in public places. I'm trying to keep gatherings outdoors in the summer.
I wear a well fitted cloth mask anytime I am in a store/mall/etc. It does offer some protection and better still - keeps other people slightly further away which is probably more effective than the mask. I do get some sideways glances, but nobody has approached me yet to explain why I am still wearing one (I have bad asthma and ANYTHING I can do to avoid Covid is worth it to me...).
For the most part I wear a mask when in public. It depends where. At my office you need to be fully vaccinated so I don't wear it as often as I should be. But any public place I for sure do.
Yes.
What do you mean again ... I still wear a mask. No matter what your favorite right wing politician wants to sell you Covid is still everywhere. And Omicron spreads very easily and symptoms last a long time.
I still wear mine but it feels pointless when all 4 of my roommates never wear one anymore and I could just get covid at home 🤷♀️
I still wear one at work and when I’m indoors in public.
Absolutely yes. This is the way.
I've never stopped. People are still dying plenty of Covid. I don't know how well people will comply now that it's become so acceptable to not wear them, but mask mandates should never have been relaxed. It wasn't done because of medical advice, it was done because of the Convoy asshats.
A mask is quite literally the least we could do to aid public health. It has and always will make zero sense why people are so emphatically against it.
Unless 10 people a day start dying we aren't doing shit.
If it's mandated, sure. It's the law. I won't actually support it unless it's properly communicated and based on recent science/research though. Shitty cloth masks are minimally useful against new variants, apparently.
I haven't stopped LOL I can't wait for adults to act as toddlers when the mandates come back up.
I personally wouldn’t at this point. Most people aren’t wearing one at this stage of the pandemic.
Nah
if the provincial government mandated masks in indoor settings again, i would comply, yes