Face masks do not keep you from getting infected by coronavirus, but they do keep you from infecting others
by Howie Katz
I did some shopping at Walmart on Monday. The place was packed. I estimate that 3 out of every 4 shoppers were not wearing face masks. There was no social distancing whatsoever.
I also saw TV news coverage of how people celebrated the Memorial Day weekend all over the country. Crowds packed the beaches and bars. There was hardly a mask in sight and there was absolutely no social distancing.
Those Walmartians and those holiday revelers either did not know, or did not care, that face masks do not keep you from getting infected by coronavirus, but they do keep you from infecting others.
I had to see my dermatologist yesterday. You cannot come into the building unless you are wearing a mask. While I was in the waiting room, they gave a young couple the heave-ho for not wearing masks.
Here is what Bob Walsh said in a post yesterday: "If you are under 60 and you have no co-morbidity issues your chances of dying from this shit [coronavirus] are very, very low. Your chances of GETTING it are decent, but you may very well not even know you have it."
Health experts say that up to 80 percent of people who become infected with coronavirus may not even know they're sick. These people spread the virus to those they come in contact with.
That means some of those no-mask shoppers at Walmart could very well have been infected with coronavirus and not know it. And Houston is one of the nation's COVID-19 hot spots.
If I come down with corona, I most likely got it at Walmart from some ignorant bastard or from some inconsiderate sorry asshole who did not give a shit about spreading the virus to others.
8 comments:
If Walmart was crowded and unsafe why would you enter and shop there?
There are a lot of stupid, inconsiderate bastards in the world.
How is your insecurity other peoples' problem?
The fatality rate for those who actually catch this disease is far less than 1%. If you're old or medically compromised, and you're that scared...stay away from crowds. I am both, don't wear a mask. and not buying into the fear. Sorry.
Like the man said anon, the mask is to keep YOU from infecting OTHERS if they are infected and maybe don't know it, or do know it and don't give a shit. For somebody over 70 (a demographic which both Howie and I fit into) the chances of a bad outcome from exposure to Covid-19 are MUCH HIGHER than that of the general population. You question is kind of like asking why I should be worried about ignorant assholes firing weapons into the air on the 4th of July. It isn't insecurity, it is a real, if not huge, risk, that I would not have to bear if the assholes with the guns behaved appropriately.
Dave, I don't like saying this, but by not wearing a face mask, you are one of those inconsiderate sorry assholes.
The latest COVID-19 count for the U.S. is 1,698,523 cases with 100,446 deaths. That death toll is very likely much higher than shown because of a lag time in reporting deaths from state to state that can be up to two weeks. Since face masks don't protect you from infectious diseases, your cavalier attitude about a fatality rate of less than 1% when over 100,000 have died does not speak well of you.
And I am not scared, I'm just pissed off at people who don't give a shit about infecting others.
Using Bob's analogy of people firing weapons into the air on the 4th of July...would your response be to wear body armor and a steel helmet on the 4th? Many of our leaders are mandating we do just that...closing business...destroying small businesses and our economy...me thinks the cure is worse than the disease.
I think the true Covid19 rate of infection will never be known. Too many variables.
Post a Comment