Althouse: "There should be a quicker trigger going forward to recommend or require masks when an airborne threat emerges, and robust plans to deploy them as a broad public-health measure."

May 31, 2020

"There should be a quicker trigger going forward to recommend or require masks when an airborne threat emerges, and robust plans to deploy them as a broad public-health measure."

"And hopefully by then, the dangerous politicization of wearing masks and taking other common-sense health measures that’s occurring in some places today will have been overcome by more effective public messaging and education."

From "Masks Are Here to Stay, Even After Covid Goes Away" by Max Nisen (Yahoo/Bloomberg).

Nisen deploys the adjectives "dangerous" and "common-sense" as he bemoans "the dangerous politicization of wearing masks" and endorses "common-sense health measures," but who will say where common-sense ends and irrational limitations begin? And when is politicization "dangerous" as opposed to part of the vigorous healthy debate we need to have? Some things should be politicized, and it shouldn't be enough to say something is presented under the rubric health and therefore we should all just quietly and obediently follow the instructions of the authorities. An excess of obedient credulity is also dangerous. And acceptance of everything offered as a "health measure" is not common sense. Common sense asks: Is this really necessary, considered in balance with what we are asked to give up?

92 comments:

Jake said...: WHO still only recommends masks for people caring for someone infected with SARS-COV-2.; 5/31/20, 9:06 AM
Gahrie said...: therefore we should all just quietly and obediently follow the instructions of the authorities.

That's been the Progressive mantra for well over a hundred years.; 5/31/20, 9:07 AM
alanc709 said...: Masks themselves pose a health risk. Rebreathing your own exhalations can cause damage to your lungs.; 5/31/20, 9:08 AM
Ken B said...: Common sense asks, are we required to give up all of the inflammable builds in town prove we are good people?; 5/31/20, 9:08 AM
Michael said...: Mask recommendation has been changed again. Not. Needed.; 5/31/20, 9:11 AM
MayBee said...: it shouldn't be enough to say something is presented under the rubric health and therefore we should all just quietly and obediently follow the instructions of the authorities. An excess of obedient credulity is also dangerous. And acceptance of everything offered as a "health measure" is not common sense. Common sense asks: Is this really necessary, considered in balance with what we are asked to give up?

Thank you for this. The past 3 months have been an exercise in this.
Of course my Most Caring Facebook friends cannot tell people who are now protesting to just #StayHome. I wonder if they ever believed all of it....or what is going through their minds.
I wonder what people who love Gretchen Whitmer for Keeping Us Safe think this is all about anymore. Pools can't open. Drive in theaters can't open. You shouldn't protest her. But you can protest in downtown Detroit (in the county that has been hardest hit).

Don't ask questions, though. This is all according to science and experts.; 5/31/20, 9:14 AM
Ray said...: Masks should only be required by an act of Congress, and then only on a temporary basis. If enough Congress Critters can't agree on doing this, then politics is probably involved and another agenda is at work. No more blank checks to the executive. One way or another, freedom has a cost.; 5/31/20, 9:14 AM
wendybar said...: It's over. Nobody is social distancing anymore. Rich lefties like Joe Bidens staff and the big mouthed celebrities are raining money down on the RIOTERS (not the businesses, that lost everything) Bricks are being put in cities where the rioting is going on. The media isn't talking about covid anymore...they moved on to the hate and division they have been known for...because they have nothing else to lose at this point in their haste to GET TRUMP!!! They are all losers. I hope the rioters attack the celebrates homes next. THAT would make my day.; 5/31/20, 9:14 AM
RK said...: The author has a BA is economics. And he looks like one of those people who wears a mask while by themselves in their own car.; 5/31/20, 9:18 AM
Tom T. said...: As a lawyer, I know that when my opponent bases his argument on common sense, it means that he has no actual evidence.; 5/31/20, 9:18 AM
Fernandinande said...: Vitamin D determines severity in COVID-19 so government advice needs to change, experts urge

"This study shows that, counter intuitively, countries at lower latitude and typically sunny countries, such as Spain and Northern Italy, had low concentrations of vitamin D and high rates of vitamin D deficiency. These countries also experienced the highest infection and death rates in Europe."

Belgium's had the highest death rate by a fair amount.; 5/31/20, 9:20 AM
Mark said...: From one of the D.C. riot agitator's twitter --

I wasn't kidding about the masks. Anti-facial recognition, anti-teargas, & now anti-virus. What CAN'T they do?; 5/31/20, 9:22 AM
Ron Winkleheimer said...: For the vast majority of people masks are just talismans and are about as useful. However, since I have to have one to go into certain stores, I ordered something that will still be useful after the hysteria has died down.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0875VWZSJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1; 5/31/20, 9:22 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Bless his heart he still believes in “experts” after all this. So weird how the people who politicize everything still maintain their haughty attitude about declaring that other Things should NOT be politicized. So how do we do that with “common sense” kemosabe?; 5/31/20, 9:23 AM
Sebastian said...: Jake: "WHO still only recommends masks for people caring for someone infected with SARS-COV-2."

Exactly. On their website: "If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with COVID-19."

Let's not politicize things. Let's just follow the experts. Ditch the masks now.; 5/31/20, 9:24 AM
JAORE said...: Shut up, because SCIENCE!

Are masks effective?

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1342; 5/31/20, 9:26 AM
Milo Minderbinder said...: "I am no longer young enough to know everything." Please see, https://conexaopolitica.com.br/ultimas/brazilian-scientists-and-academics-write-an-open-letter-on-the-science-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic/; 5/31/20, 9:27 AM
Unknown said...: I don't believe in them.

If the disease is really bad enough, you won't need coercion.

This one was the flu.; 5/31/20, 9:28 AM
Darkisland said...: IF there were some evidence that masks do anything but "show respect" (Cuomo) I might wear one.

IF there were any evidence that chivi is any more serious than normal flu years, I might treat it differently tnan flu. (I ignore flu and for the past 70+ years it has ignored me.

Until then, FUCK YOU, Karen.

You paused, I hope, the greatest economy ever using this bullshit pandemic as an excuse. All because OMB(tm)

The disease is real. So is flu. The reaction is a hoax.

John Henry; 5/31/20, 9:36 AM
bagoh20 said...: Since the science is nowhere near established on the efficacy or safety of wearing a piece of cloth over your face during most of your day I'm sticking with technology that millions of years of evolution have given me. Without clear evidence to the contrary, I'm not doing something just for the sake of doing something, which is all masks are at this point: magical thinking reminiscent of the middle ages. It's just as likely that we will eventually find that masks were an useless or dangerous idea.; 5/31/20, 9:36 AM
Darkisland said...: Ray said...

No more blank checks to the executive. One way or another

It wasn't the executive that forced us to wesr masks. Not the federal executive.

It was states and cities

John Henry; 5/31/20, 9:39 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: The writer also uses adverbs incorrectly, as illustrated by the quoted sentence with “hopefully” out front. Who or what in his sentence is acting with hopeful agency? What he is saying is “I’m hopeful that” something will happen. But in trying to rdnive himself as the agent knights sentence he muddies his point, or he’s obscuring it purposefully.; 5/31/20, 9:39 AM
I'm Not Sure said...: "but who will say where common-sense ends and irrational limitations begin? And when is politicization "dangerous" as opposed to part of the vigorous healthy debate we need to have?

Maybe it doesn't need to be pointed out (maybe it does), but the "who" is Max and people who think like him. You? Forget that- you're an idiot. Do as you're told by your betters.; 5/31/20, 9:42 AM
Darkisland said...: Ron w

I have one of those on order. Mine has snakes across the front with the ever helpful motto "don't step on snakes" or "don't tread on me or some such.

John Henry; 5/31/20, 9:43 AM
David53 said...: There are always airborne threats.; 5/31/20, 9:43 AM
bagoh20 said...: The people who endorse killing the economy and the thousands of people that will die from that are the same ones that are OK with destroying cities and many more lives because one horrible cop did what bad people do. It's like there are people that always seem to make even a catastrophe worse. They ruin the good things in life, and they make the bad worse. Lets call it "The Karen Imperative".; 5/31/20, 9:43 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: The mask advocates are moronic leftwing bitches. Unless you are a surgeon, or a welder, or a painter, or cleaning up a nuclear waste dump, no need for a mask.

It's like a security blanket for weak-minded adults.; 5/31/20, 9:44 AM
Narayanan said...: https://youtu.be/21X5lGlDOfg

wearing shorts on ISS - team preparing for docking; 5/31/20, 9:45 AM
Fernandinande said...: Are masks effective?

I just did that search; at best the answer was "maybe". which also means "maybe not"; the WHO says:

"Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water."

which means they're not effective because wearing a funny hat would also be effective in combination with other stuff...; 5/31/20, 9:45 AM
narciso said...: very interesting milo,; 5/31/20, 9:46 AM
bagoh20 said...: The last thing we need is for the government to make their inevitable mistakes faster and more automatic. The biggest failures in this epidemic were all government mistakes, and they were accepted with unsettling ease by the people. The government simply killed tens of thousands of people, and most of them have not died yet.

There is an uncanny wisdom to the limited government of this nation's founding, and we are reminded of it over and over, but a lot of people still can't see it.; 5/31/20, 9:54 AM
Fernandinande said...: The paper edition of the Navajo Times has a typically pitiful article:

"Medical masks stockpiled, awaiting OK from feds"

1,053,000 masks were purchased by the Indian Health Service from former Trump admin deputy chief of staff Zach Fuentes, whose company was only 11 days old when they made the sale.

Now the masks are "...sitting in an administrative building" until the FDA tells them what they bought.; 5/31/20, 9:55 AM
Wince said...: I agree with Althouse, the second sentence is where this guy's opinion begins to circle the drain. The first sentence I can live with.

Sure, stockpile the supplies to meet potential demand.

"Recommend" their use.

Allow property owners the discretion to "require" them when entering.; 5/31/20, 9:55 AM
Jersey Fled said...: Does Max realize that most people are not wearing masks now except when they have to?; 5/31/20, 9:55 AM
bagoh20 said...: This kind of shortsighted thinking is what leads someone throw water on a burning pan of oil in the kitchen.; 5/31/20, 9:57 AM
Fernandinande said...: "ProPublica: Former Trump aide provided faulty masks to Indian Health Service"
The Feds Gave a Former White House Official $3 Million to Supply Masks to Navajo Hospitals. Some May Not Work.; 5/31/20, 9:59 AM
Yancey Ward said...: I guarantee you that the next flu season with a Republican President will be presented as a pandemic, too, requiring lockdowns and new government programs to fix everything. The Left has found a new power, and they won't wait long to use it again. It might get ignored next time, but they will try it once again.; 5/31/20, 10:00 AM
William said...: I can see the point to them in an indoor environment or maybe even in a crowded outdoor one, but it does seem that their beneficial effects are somewhat exaggerated and the negative effects are hardly discussed at all. Also, the experts' guidance for wearing them has been confusing and variable. Also, the guidance for social distancing and mask wearing varies according to the nature of the event. You need such precautions while attending anti-lockdown events but not for anti-police demonstrations. The rioters, to their credit, generally wear masks while throwing Molotov cocktails at police cars. These are caring people who don't want to carry a virus home to granny.; 5/31/20, 10:04 AM
Caligula said...: Photos from the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic show people on city streets wearing facemasks. I'm not aware of photos from 1919 or 1920s that show people still wearing masks in public places.

Of course, this time might be different, at least if there's a continuing threat. But, the last time something of this scope happened masks did not become a permanent feature. Nor did "social distancing/avoid crowds (esp. indoors)" behaviors persist once the threat receded.; 5/31/20, 10:05 AM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: Make me, asshole.; 5/31/20, 10:05 AM
gilbar said...: therefore we should all just quietly and obediently follow the instructions of the authorities.

and THAT is The Purpose of face covering!
By covering your face in public, you SHOW your submission to the will of Allah
or, sorry, i mean:
By covering your face in public, you SHOW your submission to the will of The Government
of course, when you get Right Down to It... Not much difference, is there?
both hate Christian Churchs; 5/31/20, 10:09 AM
stever said...: Wearing a mask is dangerous for some people. I observed three people at a post office nearly flop out while wearing one and going from the car to inside. Its a distraction. When its warm and the governor wants you to "distance" outside, it can be beyond uncomfortable. Theoretically we shouldn't go anywhere, so we can be scared if we get off on that.; 5/31/20, 10:09 AM
Allison said...: If you want rioting to stop, the masks need to become anathema again. There is no social cohesion if you cannot tell by facial expressions if someone is a threat to you.

There are reasons why masks in public are illegal here in the US. But we chose to forget those reasons. This week has been a reminder of reality: that house arrest, depression-level unemployment, idleness on top of mass fear and apocalyptic media pronouncements leads to social unrest. Even if this is being stage managed or coordinated intentionally in some cities, a working population with normal life going on, and teens in school, would not be available for rioting.; 5/31/20, 10:13 AM
RNB said...: "Common-sense" mask usage requirements are like "common-sense" gun laws.; 5/31/20, 10:14 AM
campy said...: "And when is politicization "dangerous" as opposed to part of the vigorous healthy debate we need to have?"

It's always "dangerous" when the Wrong People are doing it.; 5/31/20, 10:15 AM
Josephbleau said...: The media slobbered all over itself on Hydroxychloroquine because quicky studies showed no effect and there were no double blind projects complete. What about masks? Granted you can’t do a blind study because you can see the mask, but you can do a designed study to show it stops this particular virus, but this has not been done. Ignorant and stupid media double standards.; 5/31/20, 10:15 AM
PhilD said...: "That's been the Progressive mantra for well over a hundred years."

Only when it suits them like when they are the authorities.; 5/31/20, 10:25 AM
NCMoss said...: Coercion which require threats of fine and imprisonment may affect actions in the short term but for a longer bumpier ride attitudes and a shared sense of responsibility are the only sane way to go forward.; 5/31/20, 10:47 AM
Birkel said...: The evidence before the Winnie Xi Flu spread was that masks on healthy people created worse health outcomes.

One wonders what has changed about that.; 5/31/20, 10:48 AM
Jupiter said...: "... but who will say where common-sense ends and irrational limitations begin?"

Allow me. Masking is unneccesary. Just wrap a couple rolls of duct tape around Max Nisen and you should be good to go.; 5/31/20, 10:48 AM
Kevin said...: The left couches everything in the mantle of dangerous or common sense.

The inherent goal is to stifle any questioning or dissent.

In every realm, their science is settled.; 5/31/20, 10:49 AM
Jupiter said...: I will say, I am glad to see that this heaping load of nonsense comes from --
Yahoo Bloomberg? WTF? -- anyway, it's not NYT, so that's progress. You've found some new ninnies to feed to your fans.; 5/31/20, 10:51 AM
Andrew said...: I just came from a park nearby. It was far more crowded than usual, even for a Sunday morning. I would estimate that 5% of the people at the park were wearing masks. Of course, wearing a mask outdoors seems unnecessary, to say the least. But two weeks ago, it was more like 80% at the same park were wearing masks.

After the riots, I dare any journalist or politician to pretend that masks and social distancing are a legitimate concern, much less a mandated requirement.; 5/31/20, 10:52 AM
Skeptical Voter said...: The maks that the City of Minneapolis handed out to the "peaceful protesters" in order to protect them from Covid-19 did come in handy--they worked to block out the smoke from the fires set an hour or two later.; 5/31/20, 11:07 AM
Browndog said...: Fight the masks now, or you'll never be able to take them off.

-Browndog, a month ago; 5/31/20, 11:22 AM
J Severs said...: My ideas are commonsense. Your ideas are thoughtful. His ideas are dangerous.; 5/31/20, 11:40 AM
LA_Bob said...: The 1957 flu pandemic killed about 116,000 Americans (high end of the estimated deaths -- similar to COVID-19 we don't necessarily have unequivocal numbers). The US epidemic seems to have lasted something less than a year (Aug / Sept 1957 to mid-1958).

The US population in 1957 was about 172,000,000. For COVID-19 to kill as many Americans as the '57 flu, COVID-19 will have to kill some 222,000. Entirely possible, maybe even likely, by next January. Who knows?

But, in 1957, we didn't cripple the economy, close the schools, or mandate that people "mask up". A vaccine was ready by the time the US was hit, and some 40,000,000 doses administered. How much that helped is not really knowable.

Strange that more than 60 years later we're not doing any better.

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-man-who-beat-the-1957-flu-pandemic/; 5/31/20, 11:40 AM
MountainMan said...: Jersey Fled said: "Does Max realize that most people are not wearing masks now except when they have to?"

For me that means one of two things: (1) the store I am going in requires it (like Costco); or (2) I do it to satisfy my wife, who has been terrified about all this by the media and all the conflicting advice on whether they are needed or not.

Otherwise, I would not wear one. So far, I have made it past the 1957-58 pandemic, the 1968-69 pandemic, and the 2009-2010 pandemic and no one ever recommended we needed a mask. Or that we close schools, shut down businesses, and wreck our economy.; 5/31/20, 11:47 AM
Big Mike said...: Common sense asks

@Althouse, since when has genuine common sense been applicable to any part of American leftist politics? The hyphenated adjective "common-sense" is nothing but a left dog whistle to argue for policies that don’t make any sort of sense at all. Your pushback means that you resist being a dog.

(Reposted from 10:09 due to a missing word in the original.); 5/31/20, 11:55 AM
hombre said...: As far as I know I have not been ordered by anyone to wear a mask. In close quarters I wear one for several reasons: the possibility that it will protect me or others suggested by the practice of health care professionals, the possibility that others will feel more comfortable, some businesses request it, a request I honor if I choose to patronize them. There are a couple of other reasons of consequence to me, but probably not others.

If I can figure out what I am “giving up,” I’ll consider it, but it looks like BFD to me.

We high risk people are asking for consideration, some of which may prove to have been unnecessary. It won’t hurt to give some as well. I’m not sure it’s a good analogy, but I prefer not to see myself in the same category as the celebrities who demand we sacrifice because of climate change while flying around in private jets.; 5/31/20, 11:59 AM
Rick.T. said...: Piss on their “common sense.” Let looters and rioters run rampant but invade churches and shut down small businesses. No thanks.

If you’re near Nashville and see anybody in new alligator cowboy boots, they likely stole them last night from The Boot Barn. The only thing better than justice is justice and a new pair of very expensive boots.; 5/31/20, 12:02 PM
Lazarus said...: Is mask wearing really that politicized? The shutdowns were. I suspect a lot of people would social distance and wear masks if they were allowed to get back to work and pay their bills.; 5/31/20, 12:08 PM
Rory said...: Funny that they weren't able to work leeches into this.; 5/31/20, 12:11 PM
daskol said...: We are all little old Asian ladies now.

But seriously, this is common sense: in high density areas, the cultures that don masks at the first sign of illness or even as a regular thing during flu season seem to have done better than we rowdy rugged non-mask wearing types in the West. And it makes sense, as even "ineffective" masks, donned broadly, have a multiplicative effect at cutting down transmission of the virus. But the little old Asian ladies don the masks voluntarily. And they look rather silly. Be interesting to see how this plays out, as masks have become a flashpoint and we have a lot of stupid leaders who exult in getting people to do silly things just because they can. Most of America does not need to wear masks ever.; 5/31/20, 12:13 PM
rehajm said...: There should be a quicker trigger going forward...

Parapraxis.; 5/31/20, 12:16 PM
Francisco D said...: We went to a fancy grocery store in an upscale Tucson mall. About 10% of shoppers were wearing masks.

At the same mall, people getting haircuts were required to wear masks, as were people at Crate & Barrel. The Millenial clerk said she was scared to work and to go to grocery stores. We were required to stand 6' back when checking out. There were long lines outside the Apple store and about half of the people were wearing masks.

It is pretty much all over the place here. Interesting demographics that I have noted is that Hispanics rarely wear masks and more affluent shoppers only seem to wear them when required by the store.; 5/31/20, 12:22 PM
Leora said...: Back in the 80's it was politically decided that we could not shut down the bathhouses in cities with AIDS hot spots because it would impinge on people's civil rights. I remember in NY, contact tracing for AIDS was not done despite agencies with a lot of experience dealing with other STDs. Now we are expecting millions of people with no exposure to an outbreak to disrupt their lives and continue to wear dubious protective gear forever for a disease that has a 99% survival rate.; 5/31/20, 12:35 PM
rcocean said...: I guess all the concern over "Masks" and "CV-19" just sorta goes away when you're protesting "RACISM". But remember: NO CHURCH SERVICES (unless its about racism & hating Trump); 5/31/20, 12:35 PM
Leora said...: Back in the 80's it was politically decided that we could not shut down the bathhouses in cities with AIDS hot spots because it would impinge on people's civil rights. I remember in NY, contact tracing for AIDS was not done despite agencies with a lot of experience dealing with other STDs. Now we are expecting millions of people with no exposure to an outbreak to disrupt their lives and continue to wear dubious protective gear forever for a disease that has a 99% survival rate.; 5/31/20, 12:41 PM
MD Greene said...: In California, the language isn't about common sense. It's "ordered to" and "permission."; 5/31/20, 1:12 PM
Narr said...: My wife and I got COVID-19 tests this morning, courtesy of my impending procedures for A-fib.

Now we have to self-quarantine until Wednesday morning; they will let us know the results before then-- I should hope so!

We drove to the outdoor set-up behind the hospital, which had about six sterile tents and everyone dressed for a pandemic. We filled out one form, got swabbed (not the deep penetration), and were done in about ten minutes-- drive-up service!

Around here the parks are open again and a lot of folks go masked; inside stores almost everyone does, even though it's getting hot and some of us are tired of the theater.

Someone should design an air-conditioned lightweight mask-helmet. It's not beyond our earthly science.

Narr
Isn't this the Twenty-first Century?; 5/31/20, 1:18 PM
Narr said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/31/20, 1:18 PM
effinayright said...: It's ironic that the imposition of covid masks has given MORE cover to the masked ANTIFA barbarians.; 5/31/20, 1:33 PM
effinayright said...: David53 said...
There are always airborne threats.
**********

Yes.

You might swallow a bat.; 5/31/20, 1:36 PM
Mark said...: Masks work best when worn by a person while driving a car, alone, with the windows rolled up.; 5/31/20, 1:49 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: Just went in Costco in Kallispell. Guy at the door (in a kilt). Asked me if I needed a mask. I told him “no, but you are going to make me wear One”. He laughed and handed me one. I dutifully wore it, until I stepped out of their door. Funny thing there is that maybe a quarter of the “masks” were bandanas. The size of a SARS-CoV-2 viron is roughly a third the size of particle screened by an N95 mask. How much smaller does it make it than the thin weave of those bandanas?

Of course, Costco is still virtue signaling. They are based in King County, WA, which also has Seattle and Tacoma. At least their food service is somewhat open now. No tables, of course, and the catsup and mustard dispensers have been dispensed with. But they still have their signature hotdog and mini drink for $1.50, and since this is MT, that is an honest price (no sales tax here).; 5/31/20, 2:07 PM
Jim at said...: So has the national speed limit been lowered to 15 mph?

If not, why not? It's common sense.; 5/31/20, 2:09 PM
Mark said...: The Millenial clerk said she was scared to work and to go to grocery stores.

Then after work, she went out for a night of smash and destroy and looting with a thousand other people shoulder-to-shoulder, yelling and spewing copious respiratory droplets all over the place.; 5/31/20, 2:17 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: On Becoming a Plague Doctor

from the New England Journal of Medicine
image

"Despite its fearsome appearance, the plague doctor’s costume — the “personal protective equipment” of the Middle Ages — had a noble purpose. It was intended to enable physicians to safely care for patients during the Black Death. The beak was stuffed with fragrant herbs or sprinkled with perfume to combat the miasma that was thought to be the cause of the plague. The waxed robe was intended to be similarly protective. The cane determined how far the doctor would stand from the patient and allowed him to examine patients from that distance."; 5/31/20, 2:23 PM
hstad said...: Well I've been going to Asia - China, Japan, Korea, etc. for over 30 years and it is very common to wear masks by people who have the flue, etc. Yet, every year the flue breaks out and there is very little evidence that masks actually prevent or reduce the incidence of flu. More research is needed - not the political narrative kind.; 5/31/20, 2:38 PM
Michael said...: Narr

Good luck with the ablation. Should do the trick.; 5/31/20, 3:00 PM
I'm Not Sure said...: "There should be a quicker trigger going forward to recommend or require masks when an airborne threat emerges, and robust plans to deploy them as a broad public-health measure."

Translated into English:

"I want an easy way to make people to do what I think they should be doing without me having to be bothered by the necessity of actually forcing them to do it."; 5/31/20, 3:01 PM
Fernandinande said...: So has the national speed limit been lowered to 15 mph?

If not, why not? It's common sense.

It's also Science-y since the kinetic energy ~ v^2; It takes 16 times as much distance to stop from 60 mph as it does from 15 mph since the brakes dissipate the energy linearly.

So it's 16 times as safe to go 15 mph as to go 60 mph, and anyway you don't need to get there quickly because they're either sold out or burned down.

Also the Safety Efficiency Factor® is rather high at 16 times safer / 4 times as long = 4; it's usually around 1.01 for most things, so 4 is pretty good.

It'd be even safer to go 15 mph if you started out at 90 mph!; 5/31/20, 3:36 PM
Meade said...: "The rioters, to their credit, generally wear masks while throwing Molotov cocktails at police cars. These are caring people who don't want to carry a virus home to granny."

Yes. And remember: racism is also a virus that can hurt granny. The rioters' mask protects us from their racism; our mask protects the rioters from our racism. Recent scientific studies suggest that if everyone would just wear a cloth mask, we could slow the spread of hate and racism by more than 99%. One note of caution: Many of the ANTIFA nonmedical N95s have exhalation valves (to make them less stuffy to wear) that let out unfiltered racism, and thus won’t stop the wearer from infecting others—so they shouldn’t be worn around other people unless the valve is covered over with duct tape (preferably, duct tape that has been looted from Target or Home Depot).

In Hong Kong, only four confirmed deaths due to RACISM-19 have been recorded since the beginning of the riots despite high density, mass transportation and a high number of Target stores per capita. Hong Kong’s health authorities credit their citizens’ near-universal mask-wearing as a key factor (surveys show almost 100 percent voluntary compliance). Similarly, Taiwan ramped up mask production early on and distributed masks to the population, mandating their use in public transit and recommending their use in other public places—a recommendation that has been widely complied with (largely due to China being a police state). The results took a while to be reflected in the official statistics: The first five days of April still saw an average of 257 new cases of racism and nine deaths per day, but the most recent five days of data show an average of 120 new racism cases and five deaths per day. Of course, we can’t know for sure to what degree these success stories are because of masks. But we do know that in every region that has adopted widespread mask-wearing, racism and death rates have been reduced within a few weeks.

We know a vaccine for hate and racism may take years, and in the meantime, we will need to find ways to make our societies function as safely as possible. Our governments can and should do much—make racism/wokeness tests widely available, fund research in university sociology departments, ensure rioters and looters have everything they demand.

But ordinary people are not helpless. In fact, we have more power than we realize. Along with keeping our distance whenever possible and maintaining good hand-washing hygiene, all of us wearing just a simple ANTIFA-style cloth bandana could help stop this racism pandemic in its tracks.; 5/31/20, 3:51 PM
bagoh20 said...: I've tested positive for the racism antibodies. I guess I was exposed to it back when we had a Black President.; 5/31/20, 3:54 PM
Pianoman said...: Does the society want there to be restaurants or not?

If Karen is committed to forcing society to use masks under penalty of law, then Karen must be willing to abandon all eat-in restaurants.

Because you have to take off the mask, in an enclosed room, to eat.

This isn't complicated at all. People are willing to compromise on the indoor restaurant thing. So therefore, they are not serious about combating the spread of the disease.

Disney is going to re-open their theme parks next month. They're already talking about forcing people to wear masks ... except when they're eating. So all you have to do is pop a sucker into your mouth. Voila -- you don't have to wear a mask.

It's all just Covid Theater, in order to keep Karen from having a neurotic meltdown.; 5/31/20, 4:01 PM
Jim at said...: They are based in King County, WA, which also has Seattle and Tacoma.

Tacoma is in Pierce County and wants nothing to do with the idiots in KingCo.; 5/31/20, 4:05 PM
The Godfather said...: Based on the news reels (oops, videos -- showing my age) that I've seen, most of the rioters (oops, demonstrators -- showing my privilege) have been wearing masks, but have NOT been using social distancing. So in about 2 weeks we should be seeing a steep uptick in coronavirus cases if the official position is correct. If that doesn't happen, then the churches that want to open should declare their services to be "protests", because protests don't spread the virus. If there's a big increase in cases, the Governors can prohibit "protests" as a public health measure.; 5/31/20, 5:03 PM
Megthered said...: Husband and I gave not worn a mask yet through this whole academic. We are still alive and healthy. My doctor didn't even have her staff wear masks because she said it was BS. We have been in Florida and Ohio and are now on our way back home to South Dakota. We were saying this morning that when we come back go Ohio there will still be some morons wearing masks.; 5/31/20, 6:31 PM
0_0 said...: Masks will leave soon. Maybe it does not appear so in this person's bubble.
The new normal will be the old normal.; 5/31/20, 7:42 PM
Cato said...: But cloth masks are useless against a virus. So yes let’s focus on more masks earlier.; 5/31/20, 11:02 PM
Kirk Parker said...: Bruce,

"They are based in King County, WA, which also has Seattle and Tacoma."

Oh please, leave us out of that! Tacoma is in Pierce County, though quite a few people here do commute to Seattle, Bellevue, and home-of-Costco Kirkland.; 6/1/20, 11:38 PM