Polis to mandate masks across the state

[Irving]

Anyone who is concerned about bacterial build up in masks they wear more than once can pop it into the microwave for a minute. That will kill everything on the mask. Same concept as microwaving your smelly kitchen dish sponge. I've done it with a dish sponge. Goes from unbearably gross to no smell in one minute from the microwave. I don't know how microwaving a nice N95 mask might effect it's usefulness, but every cheap mask and bandana should be no issue.

Can we stop with the bad arguments about touching masks ruining them? If the point of the mask is to reduce the spray from ones breath or a cough or sneeze or whatever, it doesn't matter if you touch it and it gets "dirty," it's still reducing the output. You could wipe dog poop on your mask and it'd still reduce how much of your cough gets out.

[FoxtArt]

Can we stop with the bad arguments about touching masks ruining them? If the point of the mask is to reduce the spray from ones breath or a cough or sneeze or whatever, it doesn't matter if you touch it and it gets "dirty," it's still reducing the output. You could wipe dog poop on your mask and it'd still reduce how much of your cough gets out.

And the missing point there too, is this is a respiratory infection, not a digestive one. Sure, touching a "contaminated mask" could get stuff on your fingers, and then you could touch a doorknob, and then if someone licked that doorknob....

....They still probably wouldn't get a SARS-COV2 infection, because it's vector isn't surface contact to begin with, and the body of science confirms that. You could lick a doorknob with the virus on it and you're probably not going to get sick. Breath a droplet of it straight into your lungs though, and you're f%$ked as far as the virus using you for a host. (obv. a minority are asymptomatic, anyway).

If this were Norovirus, the argument that masks are irrelevant because people touch them would be quite valid, because it's vector IS primarily surface contact.

As others' have pointed out, I don't think anyone is really arguing "YAY GOVERNMENT CONTROL" on the forum at all - haven't seen that. So I think we're mostly on the same page, but there's a sizable group that is getting sick of the bad arguments though, e.g. no different than the email chains of yesteryear or the Facebook shares of whatever "proof" MS Paint photo someone made in their basement.

[Great-Kazoo]

Anyone who is concerned about bacterial build up in masks they wear more than once can pop it into the microwave for a minute. That will kill everything on the mask. Same concept as microwaving your smelly kitchen dish sponge. I've done it with a dish sponge. Goes from unbearably gross to no smell in one minute from the microwave. I don't know how microwaving a nice N95 mask might effect it's usefulness, but every cheap mask and bandana should be no issue.

Can we stop with the bad arguments about touching masks ruining them? If the point of the mask is to reduce the spray from ones breath or a cough or sneeze or whatever, it doesn't matter if you touch it and it gets "dirty," it's still reducing the output. You could wipe dog poop on your mask and it'd still reduce how much of your cough gets out.

I wouldn't micro them. They do have a thin piece of metal in them, to conform to the nose.
If yours don't then it's a placebo that does nothing, to provide a seal around the face.

Same for anyone who feels a mask is necessary. YET has a beard/ facial hair.

[Zundfolge]

Anyone who is concerned about bacterial build up in masks they wear more than once can pop it into the microwave for a minute.

Or when you get out of your car, leave the mask hanging from the rear view mirror in the sunlight where it will be doused in UV light and that'll kill most of the germs.


As for mask mandates, they are a symptom of one of the greatest cognitive biases in our culture, the "there oughta be a law" fallacy.

Just because something is a good idea to do (or not do) doesn't mean it is the place of the state to force the issue at gunpoint (and yes, ALL laws ultimately come down to enforcement at gunpoint).

I liken it to seatbelt laws ... you're a fool if you don't wear your seatbelt. You're a bigger fool if you want government to force you to at gunpoint.


Ironically you'll get more people refusing to wear masks by mandating it than just making it a recommendation. So if the goal is to get people to wear masks, mandates are foolish (but I don't believe the goal of the mandates is to get people to wear masks, but just get the people used to more and more mandates ... its more about control than safety).