I know my mask, the one from work, is not so good fitting and is like 2 layers rough canvas like cotton. It does stop spittle etc, and i can feel it absorb some humidity and if it is doing that I think it might be catching viruses?
I did a little research when COVID first came out, and I seem to remember that electrostatically some viruses get caught in fabrics, which is why doctors wear them, and also to catch spit and hairs (bidirectionally).
Gloves are there as a disposable hand", or at least very washable hand surface that you can bleach.
I do have a 50W germicidal UV-C lamp set that I can use to sterilize things. (good luck getting the bulbs now!)
and social distancing was to allow virus to dissipate to low levels such that people chances of getting a viral load large enough to overwhelm the immune system (get sick) was low.
All of this was told to the public by reliable and unbiased sources from the beginning. It is same thing doctors do during flu season i believe.
It should have been easy enough for all of us to do. But some were claiming violation of rights because a mask was required to enter a private business who sets some of the rules. I don't understand people.
I made a mask of thick quilted cotton in between 2 layers of tight synthetic fabric. It is hard to breathe through and is hot as heck.
but it filters!
If you have ever needed to filter something, stuff a column with cotton balls. Take a pipe that is thin and long and pack it hard with cotton balls, and pour in the fluid. IF you have pressure to push it through, it comes out clean, and the cotton is dirty. I have used this in one job to make clean water that supposedly according to the chemist was able to remove all but the smallest viruses. I do not know how small the corona is...and this method requires hundreds of PSI...but hopefully there is some benifit to breathing through cotton. Cotton has micro pores, something like activated carbon . Synthetic weaves are like plastic rods, they do not filter except mechanically. Cotton with its pores , can electrostatically filter as well as mechanical. And I think washing and drying doesn't stop that.
I mention this because this knowledge is out there, on TV, on the web, and in my case in a book i have from my old days in college.
This virus came from an animal, and was not a plot. Ebola, possibly aids, corona, and others are in animals at times. It was going to happen sooner or later. WE are encroaching on wildlife spaces and our population grows. People eat wildlife, and can get exposed during processing to viruses. This was inevitable, not a conspiracy. I do not know why people thought China did this to US. They wouldn't. They got sick too. And because of the draconian measures, it was squashed easier. Also, they have a mentality of following the leader, and that helped in this situation.
Here we seem to get offended if we speed and out license is taken away, as if it is a birth right. Nope. It was an earned privilege . People are too out of touch with reality.
Just wear the dang mask. Wear gloves if you got em. Distance.
I would watch Dr Fauchi and he seemed to know what common sense was, and yet it sounded like some were trying to say he was wrong? If we can't trust a doctor regarding spread of a germ, who can we trust? Let's all trust our local automechanc? Sure, they MAY know what to do as well, but historically a doctor is supposed to know more in depth. So I listened to the doctors. They took an oath to help, why would they lie?
One guy at work got his covid swab. It turned out negative. He showed me the email on his phone. He said, "see here this is from the hospital. I took an online exam and it said I have the virus and this is before I got the swab, its all a bunch of nonsense to get more people in as patients". I took a good look at it ... here is what it really said "you pre-screening questionnaire shows evidence that you may have a viral infection given your self reported symptoms. Because of this, you should consider getting a covid test, please click here to schedule a time for a sample collection." The cost without insurance was about $40.
I then told him my interpretation of it, he still was adamant that it was a ploy to get money via patients. I told him that if they do that they could lose the medical license, the thing that makes it where they can work and make money. If they do that they can't pay off the student loans of 200,000 etc. Why would a hospital also lose credibility? No one would ever come to it.
Where is the use of logic?
Some people love to believe in a story of their own rather than hear a truth that causes more work for them.
People are mentally lazy.
My sisters realitives also said this about corona...
"It is God's will that some may die and some may live."
They also said this about their own son when he had a brain anyerusim. My side of the family were the ones taking him to the hospital when it happened, and supported him.
The doctor with his skills saved him. The science saved him.
And of course when their son made a great recovery, they were so pleased to see him as his old self. Well how nice. Thank the doctor, the nurses, the engineers, scientists, the humans who made it possible.
My opinion...
If god is there, god made us able to understand how to help others and to care. So why not do just that? Use the brain you were given!
When you are croaking, you might lament how it is gods will that you go. But what if someone came at that moment and said they could save you? How quickly you might forget what you just said! It might just be gods will when you are unaware of options.
As much as I can, I will be the one to choose what is under my control. I choose to control the virus with knowledge.
And Kobuk, to let you know...
My brother had his fever come down, and his pneumonia is starting to get controlled by meds. So he may be turning the corner on Covid. Will have to see.
I say this because, yes, people are recovering from it. Just remind your friend to be on top of symptom development and have a plan for treatment if needed.
It is a nasty one, just like a really bad flu. Which I bet few people remember getting (thanks to science).
My brother is out of work now for 1 month, and is now on Short term disability. His employer is being super nice about this.