Re Editorial:Masks are valuable, but they’re only one part of the equation
There is no silver bullet. No personal protective equipment is perfect. It is all one part of an overall hierarchal process to lower your risk. If there was a way to eliminate the risk, then we would not be having these discussions…
- You cannot catch it if you are not there to catch it. – There is no way to completely isolate yourself from the world, however, there is a difference between “I have to go to work, get groceries, and fill my prescription” and “I hear there is a ragin’ kegger at buddy’s house and I want to stop in on the way to grandma’s birthday party”
- When you do have to go out, now you should be thinking about secondary measures. 6 feet is the minimum distance, you CAN use more space if it is available.
- No, masks are not perfect, they do not stop everything, but they do seriously mess with the flight trajectory and travel distance of ejected fluids. Anyone who has ever sneezed into one will tell you that they can indeed hold an amazing amount of “stuff”.
- Wash your hands.
- If you cannot wash your hands, use hand sanitizer.
- Accept the fact that perfect does not exist. You can follow every mandate, do everything right, and still get a bad outcome. However, the fact that one measure or another is “not perfect” should not be a reason to say, “To heck with it” and hold a kegger.
Do the best you can.
Be kind to others.
Try not to let stress and fear turn you into a jerk.
Thomas Kirsop
