I noticed on the survey for an Internet services provider shop that the 4-5 COVID-related questions have very recently been removed. Things like entryway signage, use of masks, social distancing, physical contact such as handshaking, floor markers. Interesting...

That's unfortunate. Sad.

I am sorry to admit it, but in my part of the country, the prevention steps were largely ignored.

What I get for living here, I guess.

But then, we do have 4 x the number of cows than we have people....and it's not proven cattle spread COVID.

the businesses, the people, the customers, owners, etc.. NO ONE here, especially in this little town ever followed the guidelines, even when the state "mandated" wearing masks and not eating indoors, no one here listened. And we had freezer trucks at the local hospitals. I personally didn't go into town for nearly a year, and then it was only to get vaccinated. I still don't spend my money in this county, I'll go almost ANYWHERE else. They even mentioned this County on the national news as one of the Covid hot spots the first year. I did a couple TMO shops, the signage was there, but that's all. The kids that work there put on masks and hang them under their chins, or keep their nose poked out.

Those "safety precautions" are not going to prevent the spread of a powerful airborne virus, and were long ago found to be ineffective. They were mostly just for show. Virtually everyone has probably already had it by now, whether we know it or not.

There was no way to measure or express how well any single measure, or combination of Covid safety measures, worked or might work to prevent spread. Well, the cynic in me notes one: preventing an uncontrollable spate of lawsuits alleging that thus or such could have prevented someone's sickness or death might have saved someone a great deal of money...

@mjt9598 Thank you!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2022 03:57AM by patman9760.

Well, I believe that those "safety measures" prevented me from getting sick and dying during the first year before I got vaccinated. I am over 65 with some other risk factors. I was out and about doing shops as soon as they opened back up in May/June 2020. I was out shopping for groceries, going to the dentist, doctor and haircuts. I did not eat inside restaurants. I only socialized outside with friends. I have had three jabs now but am still careful. My extended family members who followed the safety measures have not had Covid. My youngest son who thinks he is immortal has had Covid twice. The first time was really bad. Thank goodness he is in his 30's. Having said that, I no longer cuss behind my mask at those who don't follow the guidelines. It is what it is, and I'm not going to use my energy "tilting at windmills.". Life goes on or doesn't.

I lost 6 relatives to covid. Two were elderly, in their 80s. Two were teachers. All lived in places where people tended to ignored guidelines. All but one died before vaccines were available, and masks were all we had to protect ourselves. I appreciate the protection tbey gave and will continue wearing them when restrictions are lifted.

@Susan I am so sorry for your loss.

Everyone in my family, including me, is vaccinated. My uncle and aunt, who are in their 70s, got Covid. My uncle appears to have fully recovered but my aunt is still feeling unwell. Due to their age and medical history (both had cancer), I suspect they would have fared far worse if they had not been vaccinated.

My cousin also got Covid. He is in his 30s and seems to have fully recovered. We are lucky his wife did not get it, especially since she just gave birth last week.

I am partially disabled and have a compromised immune system. I have to spend multiple hours each week in a medical facility. It infuriates me when other patients (and sometimes even one of the medical staff members) refuse to wear their masks or to wear them properly. I also have to deal with the staff not willing to remind patients that they have to wear their masks or pull them up to cover their noses.

Most of the counties here recently relaxed their mask mandates for vaccinated people. I still wear my mask. Given how many people are proudly unvaccinated and how many people did not comply with mask mandates before they were lifted, I have no doubt many unvaccinated people are now going maskless.

Thank you BusyBee. And congrats on your new baby cousin!

When I got my booster shot a local hospital invited me to be part of a study they were doing. They checked my antibodies and no, in fact, I have not gotten Covid. I wear a high quality mask when doing shops like Five Guys where I’m surrounded by those who aren’t wearing a mask.

About 65% of Americans haven’t contracted Covid-19 yet. Extensive antibody sampling (like NinS described) has given some pretty good numbers.

I absolutely don’t want that virus in my cells. It’s linked to dementia-like neuro damage, cardiac damage, and of course lung damage.

I’m wearing a N95, only doing gas stations (no interactions longer than 2-3 minutes is my rule) and staying out of restaurants, grocery stores, etc.

My state has a Bluetooth-enabled Covid tracker that I put on my phone. After a very busy 60 hour week of electronics shops and big box audits, it had counted 87 encounters with Covid-positive people. I was careful about my N95 that whole week, and feel like I really missed a bullet.

I am sorry to everyone who lost loved ones to the coronavirus.

The stickers on the floor, the 2' x 2' plexiglass at the grocery, and the pieces of paper on our faces probably did nothing to help.

Unfortunately, covid broke a lot of people's brains.

It's become completely political, and for some it cannot be resolved without imposing their will on others.

Aren't we at Day 711 of 15 to slow the spread?

They lied about everything. They knew the origin of the virus, they knew about possible treatments and therapeutics, they knew about mitigation measures, they knew in April 2020 that it thankfully did not pose a serious risk to children -but they knew they could use it to divide us and make us afraid.

I'm a teacher. I've had two high school graduations where people were forced to mask outdoors and in photos. This year will likely be number 3. There is no scientific reason to do this. The harm we are doing to society is immeasurable. I can't imagine having a child sent to Kindergarten in 2020 in a mask has never not been masked at school.

It's time to admit, the war on covid is lost. Take down the plexiglass. Take off the masks. Stop hating people who think differently. It's time to see some unmasked smiles. If woe want to be healthy, we (I!) need to lose weight, and get outside and exercise.

@Tanischri87 wrote:

I am sorry to everyone who lost loved ones to the coronavirus.

The stickers on the floor, the 2' x 2' plexiglass at the grocery, and the pieces of paper on our faces probably did nothing to help.

Unfortunately, covid broke a lot of people's brains.

It's become completely political, and for some it cannot be resolved without imposing their will on others.

Aren't we at Day 711 of 15 to slow the spread?

They lied about everything. They knew the origin of the virus, they knew about possible treatments and therapeutics, they knew about mitigation measures, they knew in April 2020 that it thankfully did not pose a serious risk to children -but they knew they could use it to divide us and make us afraid.

I'm a teacher. I've had two high school graduations where people were forced to mask outdoors and in photos. This year will likely be number 3. There is no scientific reason to do this. The harm we are doing to society is immeasurable. I can't imagine having a child sent to Kindergarten in 2020 in a mask has never not been masked at school.

It's time to admit, the war on covid is lost. Take down the plexiglass. Take off the masks. Stop hating people who think differently. It's time to see some unmasked smiles. If woe want to be healthy, we (I!) need to lose weight, and get outside and exercise.

No. Just - no.

1. The SARS2 virus is aerosolized. That means that yes, the social distancing DID help. And hundreds of studies performed worldwide have demonstrated that N95-grade masks absolutely do prevent the spread of SARS2.

2. The “slow the spread” movement was absolutely necessary so that scientists could understand the basics of the virus we were facing, and to not overwhelm hospitals and HCWs. It was designed to give a short window of opportunity for researchers to sequence the virus, make molecular models of its structure, and determine the human cellular targets (ACE2 receptors) so that vaccines and drug trials could begin. You are distorting the entire purpose of “slow the spread.”

3. Aerosolized viruses can absolutely spread in outside settings where people are seated closely, like in bleachers or jammed together at concerts. Think of aerosolization like cigarette smoke; if you can smell that from a distance, aerosolized virus particles (roughly the same size when complexed with water molecules) can also reach your respiratory system.

4. You mentioned that you are a teacher, I guess to demonstrate expertise (???) I hope that you are not a science teacher, especially at a high school.

I didn’t mean to upset you. Next time I’ll try to see what triggered you before I write. Maybe don’t insult a person’s livelihood or intelligence? It’s going to be 3 graduations of kids wearing masks -kids in the 3rd grade who have never had a normal human interaction. The states that didn’t do this have age-adjusted similar results. The countries that did not take these harsh measures are better off than the US. We know they sequenced the virus very early. We have also had vaccines since December 2020. So as soon as that happened, there is no justification for any of these other measures for a bad flu. It’s time to let go of controlling others. If you want to keep masking and distancing you don’t need a sign to tell you to. You’d think the constant and flagrant rule breaking from politicians would tell you they’re not really afraid. I wish you the best!

I did not bother to address your previous post but am glad ColoKate63 did. Your latest post, though, is both too funny and sad.

Don't insult a person's livelihood or intelligence?

"Unfortunately, covid broke a lot of people's brains."

I don't know about kids in your area. Kids in the third grade in my area are usually about 8 years old and most have had plenty of "normal human interaction" before the pandemic and continue to have normal human interaction at home. As the pandemic continues, what "normal human interaction" means is also changing.

"We know they sequenced the virus very early. We have also had vaccines since December 2020. So as soon as that happened, there is no justification for any of these other measures for a bad flu."

You really don't get it. Viruses evolve. Have you not been paying attention to the different variants? Also, vaccines are not the be-all and end-all. Measures such as social distancing and wearing masks work in conjunction with vaccines in this fight against the virus.

@Tanischri87 wrote:

I didn’t mean to upset you. Next time I’ll try to see what triggered you before I write. Maybe don’t insult a person’s livelihood or intelligence? It’s going to be 3 graduations of kids wearing masks -kids in the 3rd grade who have never had a normal human interaction. The states that didn’t do this have age-adjusted similar results. The countries that did not take these harsh measures are better off than the US. We know they sequenced the virus very early. We have also had vaccines since December 2020. So as soon as that happened, there is no justification for any of these other measures for a bad flu. It’s time to let go of controlling others. If you want to keep masking and distancing you don’t need a sign to tell you to. You’d think the constant and flagrant rule breaking from politicians would tell you they’re not really afraid. I wish you the best!

I just have one question Tanischri87 for you. Who is this THEY that you claim knew all these things about Covid back in March 2020 or so. I have no idea which planet you live on but on my planet I am happy to have followed the rules along with all my friends. Not one of us has gotten covid (that we know of) and we are all in the risky age range with co morbidities that could have made it lethal for us.

@Tanischri87 wrote:

I am sorry to everyone who lost loved ones to the coronavirus.

The stickers on the floor, the 2' x 2' plexiglass at the grocery, and the pieces of paper on our faces probably did nothing to help.

Unfortunately, covid broke a lot of people's brains.

It's become completely political, and for some it cannot be resolved without imposing their will on others.

Aren't we at Day 711 of 15 to slow the spread?

They lied about everything. They knew the origin of the virus, they knew about possible treatments and therapeutics, they knew about mitigation measures, they knew in April 2020 that it thankfully did not pose a serious risk to children -but they knew they could use it to divide us and make us afraid.

I'm a teacher. I've had two high school graduations where people were forced to mask outdoors and in photos. This year will likely be number 3. There is no scientific reason to do this. The harm we are doing to society is immeasurable. I can't imagine having a child sent to Kindergarten in 2020 in a mask has never not been masked at school.

It's time to admit, the war on covid is lost. Take down the plexiglass. Take off the masks. Stop hating people who think differently. It's time to see some unmasked smiles. If woe want to be healthy, we (I!) need to lose weight, and get outside and exercise.

C'mon, people. Even I get at least two sides of this conversation. It is equally true that for balance, we need some socialization in addition to some solitude. This is an individual differences thing, with or without Covid in the world. People who need more socialization and interaction than Covid and Covid measures have permitted have suffered. Others who regularly interact less have not suffered as much under these recent isolating conditions. These are sometimes known as HSP's or by other supportive names. No one is better, worse, more right, or more wrong. One size of mask does not protect all faces effectively just as one treatment modality does not help all people equally.

(But before you throw flames or tomatoes, you should know that I have been vaccinated and use masks & gloves as required/preferred,)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2022 01:52AM by Shop-et-al.

If you think the measures can go on forever, have fun.

The response to Covid was much worse for society than the virus.

A 2’x2’ plexiglass at the cash register didn’t save a single life.

A vinyl sticker on the floor at Chipotle didn’t save a single life.

Paper masks didn’t save a single life.

Study in Georgia 80,000 kids masks didn’t make a difference in community spread.

Trillions of dollars spent.

More people died under the current regime than the last one.

Yes! Covid broke some people’s brains. Intelligent and otherwise normal people can’t think. They went their whole lives without masking, and they can’t give it up.

I wish you all the best.

I did two Market Force mattress stores yesterday. Before I assigned them to myself, one of the checkoff questions asked if I would wear a mask the entire time I was in the store. Being a rule follower, I did.

At the first location I was the only person in the store masked up. At the second location the associate saw me and put on a mask. She told me that per company policy they were to mirror what the customer was doing.

I did a mattress store today and decided to mirror what the employee was doing. He wasn't wearing a mask so I didn't either although I had one in my pocket if needed. I saw the requirement to wear a mask but at the time the paperwork was written, I assume most municipalities did require them.