I am the only one of my coworkers wearing a mask. Half of the Latino student population is absent (Latino parents make up a really disproportionate number of calls from parents concerned about Covid). I’ve seen a couple kids wear them in and take them off once they realized they were the only one.
Welcome to the new normal
They ended at my school yesterday. My roommate stopped wearing his whenever he hangs out with people. All this has done is raise my anxiety more when I hear him or anyone else someone sniffle or cough.
you Idk if it’s too late to change roommates, since we were paired before this semester. I’ll at least ask him politely if he could, and if he still doesn’t see if I can change roommates.
If you can’t switch, this could help? Low cost but very effective DIY air filter. Wearing a mask in your living space isn’t practical, but this could passively reduce the risk somewhat - and at the very least minimize the viral load you receive if (when) he does get infected.
I don’t know know what the holdup was, but was only like 2 months ago that I was able to get my hands on any N95s that weren’t ordered direct from China. :side-eye-1:
I’m thankful I had a box from before covid or I would likely have had it before the vaxx came out since masking has never really been a thing where I am.
None.
This move is political + economic. A coordinated push to “normalcy” despite the pandemic still raging that gets people back into their “regular” economic activities and can be used to yet again prematurely declare victory.
The relevant lobbying group is just the chamber of commerce. Go to the office so that your boss can pretend to monitor your work. Open up all the services and other treat factories, push normalcy so that they can be packed and maskless to drive consumption (profits). Revitalize real estate values through this economic activities - you can start charging the rent you think you’re owed again rather than throwing in deals. They’re also ending eviction moratoriums, so that’s both commercial and residential rent.
All the things in which American capitalism is built. Capitalists have been borrowing to try and wait out the pandemic and return to “normal” rather than actually cut rents because cutting rent will financially tank you in this system. Now they will try to service those debts through these policies and buy each other out based on who does so the fastest and at the greatest scale. Nevermind the dead.
I did orientation where nobody wore masks at a job today, previously being the only masked person at interviews. It would let me work alone outside so generally COVID-safe, but that office gave me the same feeling going into a structural fire does. From now on I’m just staying masked and saying that someone at home is immunocompromised. Normality is such a false sense of confidence that I won’t do it unless this area has no active cases for like a week. We’re still sitting at around 200 positive tests in just this county last week, not including home tests. Basic omicron’s R0 value is 8-15, so by the time they’re no longer infectious those 200 cases could become 1600-3000 as normality returns to public gatherings.
