New variant Covid mask.

Discussions about serious topics, for serious people
Post Reply
User avatar
Boustrophedon
Stummy Beige
Posts: 2860
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 3:58 pm
Location: Lincolnshire Wolds

New variant Covid mask.

Post by Boustrophedon » Thu Jun 10, 2021 8:02 pm

New mask variant that is.

OK so we've all seen them, the idiots that seem to think that a mask works if it only covers the mouth.
Well I saw a new variant today, the nose mask. Yep that's right a mask that only covered his nose.
We're doomed I tell ye.
Hjulet snurrar men hamstern är död.

User avatar
Matatouille
Fuzzable
Posts: 317
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 5:26 pm
Location: UK

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Matatouille » Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:58 am

Are we soon going to see Bikini Masks, where you wear 2 small masks, one that only covers your nose, and another that only covers your mouth?


I like that I'm still seeing people who wear DIY dust masks, the kind which have an outflow valve so the potentially pathogen-laden exhaled breath is completely uncontained. But it is easier than breathing out through a filter, good for you! A year into the pandemic and this info about how we breathe, and why masks are suggested is still yet to be adequately communicated which is pathetic.

User avatar
Boustrophedon
Stummy Beige
Posts: 2860
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 3:58 pm
Location: Lincolnshire Wolds

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Boustrophedon » Fri Jun 11, 2021 8:11 am

Matatouille wrote:
Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:58 am
Are we soon going to see Bikini Masks, where you wear 2 small masks, one that only covers your nose, and another that only covers your mouth?


I like that I'm still seeing people who wear DIY dust masks, the kind which have an outflow valve so the potentially pathogen-laden exhaled breath is completely uncontained. But it is easier than breathing out through a filter, good for you! A year into the pandemic and this info about how we breathe, and why masks are suggested is still yet to be adequately communicated which is pathetic.
I am seeing valved outflow masks worn by medical staff ffs.
I am wearing professional high spec dust masks, because they were the only ones I could find with an adequate shape around the nose to seal properly.
Hjulet snurrar men hamstern är död.

User avatar
Bird on a Fire
Princess POW
Posts: 10137
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2019 5:05 pm
Location: Portugal

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Bird on a Fire » Fri Jun 11, 2021 8:43 am

Matatouille wrote:
Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:58 am
Are we soon going to see Bikini Masks, where you wear 2 small masks, one that only covers your nose, and another that only covers your mouth?
This sounds like an excellent idea (I assume there's some boring epidemiological reason why it isn't really).

Loads of people are going to end up with facemask tanlines, and I've been worrying a bit about it myself. Though I don't recall seeing many viral photos of them from last year.
We have the right to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment.

User avatar
Matatouille
Fuzzable
Posts: 317
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 5:26 pm
Location: UK

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Matatouille » Fri Jun 11, 2021 8:52 am

Boustrophedon wrote:
Fri Jun 11, 2021 8:11 am
I am wearing professional high spec dust masks, because they were the only ones I could find with an adequate shape around the nose to seal properly.
It is true these fit so much better. How have the consumer mask makers not cottoned on to the idea that something that adjusts to fit there would be nicer than a generic shape that fits nobody properly? My glasses long to be unfoggy. Only the single use disposables seem to address the nose issue, reusables not so much.

User avatar
Fishnut
After Pie
Posts: 2447
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 1:15 pm
Location: UK

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Fishnut » Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:03 am

Matatouille wrote:
Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:58 am
I like that I'm still seeing people who wear DIY dust masks, the kind which have an outflow valve so the potentially pathogen-laden exhaled breath is completely uncontained. But it is easier than breathing out through a filter, good for you! A year into the pandemic and this info about how we breathe, and why masks are suggested is still yet to be adequately communicated which is pathetic.
I see a lot of older people wearing those see-through visors that do absolutely nothing to stop airflow. I really can't get over how unbelievably useless the messaging has been about masks. I don't think the majority of people realise the idea is to stop the nasty stuff coming out of them, not getting into them.

The lack of good masks that work with glasses forced me into making my own. I'm not a natural seamstress but I found an easy pattern and have garden wire wrapped in electrical tape in the noses which has worked really well. I fog up very occasionally, always weather dependent, and generally in conditions where fogging is possible even without a mask on. One of the big signs to me that covid isn't some big conspiracy to get people to wear masks is the absolutely shite nature of most of the masks on sale, and the fact that for the first few months the only place you could even get semi-decent ones was to make them yourself or go on Etsy. FFS, everyone in the country got sent a gas mask in WW2, why weren't they just sent to every home or put at distribution points?
it's okay to say "I don't know"

User avatar
Bird on a Fire
Princess POW
Posts: 10137
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2019 5:05 pm
Location: Portugal

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Bird on a Fire » Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:05 am

Yeah the UK mask shortage was extremely weird. Elsewhere in Europe the shops were full of them, they were being handed out for free at train stations, etc. But my UK relatives were asking if I could post some over.
We have the right to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment.

IvanV
Stummy Beige
Posts: 2662
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 11:12 am

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by IvanV » Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:13 am

When it looked like we could have choir practices again, before the government stopped it at short notice, my choir got in a batch of "singing masks". These come in different sizes. They have stiffening so that the mask sticks out and gives a space in front of your mouth. It does have some similarity to a dog muzzle.

The rules allow choir practices of up to 6 people, so we decided to split the choir up and have small (but infrequent) rehearsals, as we aren't such a big choir, and so I got to try it out. It is a bit warm and heavy for wearing for a long time. And it does get rather damp inside. But it comes with a method to allow you to wash it in the washing machine without damaging it too much.

Millennie Al
After Pie
Posts: 1621
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2020 4:02 am

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Millennie Al » Sat Jun 12, 2021 1:39 am

Bird on a Fire wrote:
Fri Jun 11, 2021 8:43 am
Matatouille wrote:
Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:58 am
Are we soon going to see Bikini Masks, where you wear 2 small masks, one that only covers your nose, and another that only covers your mouth?
This sounds like an excellent idea (I assume there's some boring epidemiological reason why it isn't really).
Not epidemiological, but physics: the resistance to breathing depends on the size of the permeable area. If you make it smaller, breathing i more effort and the mask is less comfortable. Ideally, valves would ensure you inhaled through one filter and exhaled through another using HEPA filters or similar - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HEPA ... ram_en.svg for how they pack in a big surface area into a small volume.

Herainestold
After Pie
Posts: 2029
Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2019 1:23 pm

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Herainestold » Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:20 am

Times of India was suggesting double masking was effective against Delta variant.
Masking forever
Putin is a monster.
Russian socialism will rise again

Millennie Al
After Pie
Posts: 1621
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2020 4:02 am

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Millennie Al » Sat Jun 12, 2021 11:14 pm

Herainestold wrote:
Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:20 am
Times of India was suggesting double masking was effective against Delta variant.
Nothing published in such a prestigious scientific journal sould possibly be wrong.

Herainestold
After Pie
Posts: 2029
Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2019 1:23 pm

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Herainestold » Sun Jun 13, 2021 4:08 am

Millennie Al wrote:
Sat Jun 12, 2021 11:14 pm
Herainestold wrote:
Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:20 am
Times of India was suggesting double masking was effective against Delta variant.
Nothing published in such a prestigious scientific journal sould possibly be wrong.
Yeah, I know. Its the flimsiest of anecdotal data. What is the downside? If everybody double masks to mitigate the virulent Delta variant and if it only has a 5% efficacy, isnt that a small win?
Masking forever
Putin is a monster.
Russian socialism will rise again

User avatar
Martin_B
After Pie
Posts: 1614
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 1:20 pm
Location: Perth, WA

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Martin_B » Sun Jun 13, 2021 9:43 am

Herainestold wrote:
Sun Jun 13, 2021 4:08 am
Millennie Al wrote:
Sat Jun 12, 2021 11:14 pm
Herainestold wrote:
Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:20 am
Times of India was suggesting double masking was effective against Delta variant.
Nothing published in such a prestigious scientific journal sould possibly be wrong.
Yeah, I know. Its the flimsiest of anecdotal data. What is the downside? If everybody double masks to mitigate the virulent Delta variant and if it only has a 5% efficacy, isnt that a small win?
Huge number of extra disposable masks needed? India's population is ~1.4 billion, so that's a lot more masks needed every day,
"My interest is in the future, because I'm going to spend the rest of my life there"

Herainestold
After Pie
Posts: 2029
Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2019 1:23 pm

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Herainestold » Sun Jun 13, 2021 3:04 pm

Many people tend to layer up homemade masks one over the other. However, experts suggest that when it comes to double masking, ensure that you layer up a cloth mask over a surgical one for the best measure. Such a combination, unlike others, would not just cover the face better, give you proper fit (nose and below the mouth), but also prevent the leakage of air or collection of particles.
This is what I do. Cloth mask over surgical, Helps to seal the mask over the mouth and nose without leakage.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/lif ... d=82212748
Masking forever
Putin is a monster.
Russian socialism will rise again

Millennie Al
After Pie
Posts: 1621
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2020 4:02 am

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Millennie Al » Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:24 am

Herainestold wrote:
Sun Jun 13, 2021 4:08 am
Millennie Al wrote:
Sat Jun 12, 2021 11:14 pm
Herainestold wrote:
Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:20 am
Times of India was suggesting double masking was effective against Delta variant.
Nothing published in such a prestigious scientific journal sould possibly be wrong.
Yeah, I know. Its the flimsiest of anecdotal data. What is the downside? If everybody double masks to mitigate the virulent Delta variant and if it only has a 5% efficacy, isnt that a small win?
The downside is well know from many examples of quackery: you may spend resources on something which does not work and it may act as a substitute for something which does work.

Wearing a mask is easy, so many people will do that in preference to other measures which are known to be effiective: staying away from other people and ensuring good ventilation indoors. For example, if people believed that sanitising surfaces and wesaring masks were worthless, would they have been as willing to send children back to schools?

User avatar
bolo
Dorkwood
Posts: 1016
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 1:17 pm
Location: Washington DC

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by bolo » Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:45 am

The CDC supported double masking months ago
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronaviru ... oronavirus
but that has nothing to do with any particular variant. Masks work against the droplets that viruses travel in, which are highly unlikely to be different between strains.

Herainestold
After Pie
Posts: 2029
Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2019 1:23 pm

Re: New variant Covid mask.

Post by Herainestold » Mon Jun 14, 2021 3:54 am

bolo wrote:
Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:45 am
The CDC supported double masking months ago
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronaviru ... oronavirus
but that has nothing to do with any particular variant. Masks work against the droplets that viruses travel in, which are highly unlikely to be different between strains.
The better the mask fits and seals around your mouth and nose the more protected you are. The new more virulent and more transmissable variants
require better fitting masks to give the same amount of protection. Whereas a regular medical mask might have been adequate protection against original wild strain covid, the newer variants such as Delta require a n95 or double mask for the same level of protection.
Masking forever
Putin is a monster.
Russian socialism will rise again

Post Reply