I've read the articles dissing the homemade cloth/paper/vacuum-cleaner-bag/etc masks and less-than-N95 masks. You and I can take away from those writings whatever you (or I) want to...I'm not looking for discussion of their efffectiveness but simply whether you wear a mask of some kind. Regardless of effectiveness of whatever you have available to you...

Do you wear a mask every time you go out now?

Or, do you gauge where and when you wear them when you go out?

Or, do you simply not wear one at all?

Just curious. If going into a public building of any kind I wear a mask. If I'm going to be outdoors in a public area I most likely won't wear one...but, we don't have shoulder-to-shoulder people on the sidewalks or anything like and there are no large gatherings taking place. In my area I can easily stay a distance away from other people. Even inside stores we're able to keep a distance (but I still wear a mask inside them).

Like I said, i'm just curious as to what people's comfort levels are in regards to wearing a mask (of any type).

Best wishes to all,
Ed

My husband and I are both in the 65+ category with a few underlying conditions. Not serious ones, but still concerning. The only person we know that has had a confirmed case is a relatively healthy relative that got really sick after contracting it traveling to Louisiana.
He's recovering now but it was scary hearing how sick he was..anyway we wear masks that are either the N95 ( old ones we found in our garage from some work we did on the house about 10 years ago.) or ones we recently got on EBay when we go to the store. Since most everything is closed it is really only the grocery, big box store,pharmacy, dr office the last month.
I had to go to the dr office today for lab work and was surprised to see some patients in the building without a mask. Not many but still surprised me.

Well, I live in New York. Yesterday our Governor issued guidelines that everyone that goes out now must wear a mask in public.

So some sort of mask or bandana. At the grocery or picking up food from restaurant. Public transportation like bus or train.

Our usual bunch of ladies that walk our dogs together each day was discussing this on our walk. All as we never wear masks. But we stay a good distance away from each other as we walk. Poor cars as we take up the entire street with the four of us and our dogs.

I wear a mask at work because right now it's required but that's the only place. I haven't been going anywhere other than to get groceries or some other errands that don't require me going in a building so I just save them for work. Cloth masks with filters.

In NJ we have had to wear mask for over a week now. You are not allowed in stores without them. I have worn one at work for awhile now and glade customers now have to. Lines into stores can be annoying but you feel better shopping not being surrounded by people. And if you work in a store the limits are very helpful.

We have no lines in our local in town Supermarkets. People simply keep apart as best they can.

Yes, we have long been wearing masks, long before the CDC finally decided to amend their rules. It is a normal precautionary procedure in Asia, so nothing really strange about it.

In one of our Asian supermarkets here, they will not allow you to enter without a mask. But they will kindly provide you with a disposable mask, there is still social distancing as you enter and go inside, along with plexiglass protection for the cashiers.

Not all supermarkets are like that. but to be on the safe side, since we really do not know who is a walking carrier, nothing will be lost if we wear a mask. Thankfully, I have always masks at home since I use it for gardening, have also ordered ahead of time some reusable/washable masks with filters, when I started seeing those video reports coming from Asia as early as January.

My county has a high number of confirmed cases, but they do not tell us which specific city has it...so not knowing who is a walking carrier..or am I a walking carrier already? Who knows, since testing is still like fiction. So to protect ourselves and others, then the little effort of wearing a mask is what we adhere to. I just think of it like an added scarf.

Thanks for the feedback. It seems that there are varying degrees of protection being instituted. My wife and I got out this past Sunday and drove into a nearby town for some shopping. Needed a few things from Lowes and of course Wallyworld. This is in south Alabama. What I saw was a larger percentage of people *not* wearing masks. What I saw was that it seemed that older people were more prone to be wearing masks. Couples were about 50/50 on whether both parties were wearing or not wearing masks. Single shoppers not wearing masks seemed to outnumber those wearing masks. Cashiers very seldom had a mask...maybe none of them, though most places had that little piece of Plexiglas stuck up between the customer and themselves...really, that little piece of plastic makes them feel safe enough not to wear a mask? The stock/floor employees were split maybe 50/50, but often I'd see one with a mask hanging around his/her neck but not over their face. Wallyworld had the sentries posted in front of the doors with their tablets...couldn't tell if they were keeping count of customers or checking their Facebook page. Lowes had no sentries at the doors, though they had some big signs at the front door talking about constantly cleaning and sanitizing. Traffic on the road and in the businesses seemed subdued...definitely no waiting to get in or to check out. Most things were in stock, though I still haven't seen a bottle of alcohol in I don't know when.

It's warming up so maybe the virus pressure will recede some and give the heath industry some time to figure out what will stop this virus. Wishing you all the best!

Ed

We wear our masks (homemade) mostly to show we are taking this thing seriously .I find people give you more space when wearing my mask . Don't know how much protection it gives me or others but I don't touch my face near as much .
Started wearing before it was suggested by the CDC or whoever.
of course having said that we simply don't go much of anywhere , It is spring here and plenty of things to keep us busy right here.

Had to get milk yesterday...mask on. A woman walking the opposite direction wearing a mask commented that it was hard to tell if someone was smiling behind a mask. I told her ya gotta look at their eyes. She replied that she could tell by my eyes that I was smiling so she smiled back at me👍👍 made my day

gingin said:Had to get milk yesterday...mask on. A woman walking the opposite direction wearing a mask commented that it was hard to tell if someone was smiling behind a mask. I told her ya gotta look at their eyes. She replied that she could tell by my eyes that I was smiling so she smiled back at me👍👍 made my day

I tell my granddaughters that I can always tell when they're really smiling and not doing the "iPhone camera smile". The eyes give it away every time. I notice that when I'm in a store and I'm smiling (gotta keep on smilin' in these times!) sometimes people "smile" back...other times they look worried like I'm the next mass murderer or something.

I don't wear a mask when out walking the dog but we do wear them when going to the store.

I wore a mask for the first time today...I had a box of them from when we were remodeling one time. I don't like the mask, but the city requires it now any time you go into a place where proper spacing is not possible. We've been leaving the house as little as possible...I think I had been home for 9 days this time. At my age and health condition, the virus could be extra tough to deal with.

Yep, I am wearing masks but not the whole time, only when I enter a supermarket or the public transport. I mean, some people do not wear masks at all.. and that's dumb.These precautions were made not for the fun of it, but for providing everyone with security. By wearing masks we make sure that no one will get infected by the virus which we could possibly already have. With this thought I ordered myself a whole pack of KN95 masks so that I could carry with me an extra mask every time. I ordered them from this site, if anyone needs https://www.18650batterystore....

It is required by law to wear one in public and has been since March or April. I wear it in the stores. I do not go to outdoor venues were masks are required, so no beaches or botanic gardens. That is not my idea of fun, especially in this heat. I would not wear it walking on the street in the neighborhood since there is enough room for everyone to get around everyone else and there aren't many people out. It is not required when exercising outdoors if you stay six feet away. When hiking, you have to wear it when passing others. We don't go to busy places or I would be spending half of the time waiting for my glasses to unfog. Back when everyone started wearing them in March or April, everyone looked like stranger danger, but the feeling has gone away some. Store employees have been wearing masks for ages.

Some people wear gloves but I haven't and I don't keep track of that. Clorox wipes and Lysol wipes and their generic equivalents are apparently made out of unicorn pee. We have not seen any since the hoarder hysteria started. I wipe once a week since we can't spare more wipes.

I always wear a mask in the stores and P.O....sometimes I don't if all I'm doing is getting my mail and the parking lot is empty. I'm surprised how many aren't especially locally...we are in tourist season so I feel really important to cover up

I always wear one when out in public, they are required in stores/businesses. Also have to wear one at work.
Don't wear one when outside but am mostly in my own yard pulling weeds or reading in my hammock.

My husband and I wear both masks and gloves ever since it was required here back in April, we got some free ones from the hospital, my daughter gave us 3 extra, her roommate's aunt was seeing masks.

Been wearing a mask since the get go of this! Any time that I'm indoors, and physical distancing isn't always possible... like grocery store, drug store, etc.
Mostly though, staying home!


IT IS about PUBLIC HEALTH!
And I wear a mask, because I care about you!
And I hope that you'll do the same for me!
We are all in this world of shit together! And the only way to get out of it, is together!🙏🏼

Yes,
I wore a mask from the onset. Took some criticism since the cdc did not advocate...matter of fact said the opposite in order to conserve on the purchases for essential personnel.

I made a pandemic box 12-13 years ago .. in it I had 2. N95 ..not thinking..should have had more... and the antibiotic are old ... but the alcohol and hand sanitizer fine. I don't expect I will need the info on converting and drinking urine .. sounds silly, but so was that pandemic box. I made it after I read the state / county plans on mandatory quarantine and triage for those Over 65... not good I wasn't 65 then... I am now.

I wear masks whenever indoors and when walking in the park etc. just hang the mask off one ear so I can access it if needed.. seeing someone I know etc. I can't remember the other questions. As a respiratory therapist working at a major world known referral center, Masks have always protected us...not just the patient. I never understood the logic behind saying masks not needed and may be harmful because we touch face more.. carry hand sanitizer. As a student, in the lab, we measured aerosolized droplets from a cough or sneeze going out 18-23 feet and so that 6 foot guideline made no sense to me. Respirable drops hover and hitch rides on air currents and can linger for hours. It's just physics the heavy ones crash land. The mask baffles and slows those down ..so good protection for others too.

My everyday mask is cloth I have a 3M. N95 filter pad that can be inserted. For risky encounters, I use the n95.. it's not comfortable. I was a fit tester for masks and in the hospital those n95 had to be tight to work as intended.

Quilting fabric I read has a good rating ..the coffee filters inside are uncomfortable
Starks a vacuum bag company making masks I read. I only found two masks on Etsy I like am
Nd meet my requirements. Very lightweight... not hot... .good coverage and with a back strap that is very comfortable and secure ...it has ear straps too but those are just to provide stability and don't tug or pull or cut. If a mask is not tolerable...it won't be worn.