Why masks in airports?

[MEL_Traveller]

not life threatening? Tell that to those who died, or at least their families!

I meant *my* symptoms are not life threatening. But they are still unpleasant. Unpleasant enough that i don’t want covid every year.

 

[Beano]

I said *my* symptoms are not life threatening. But they are still unpleasant. Unpleasant enough that i don’t want covid every year.

Apologies for the misunderstanding.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Out of interest were you wearing an N95 or a basic mask?

Mask are most effective to stop the spread by/from an infected person.

If anyone knew wearing a mask could help stop someone else getting covid, why wouldn’t they do it?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Apologies for the misunderstanding.

It’s ok I’ll fix up my post to make it clear.

 

[Beano]

Just a question. Did you wear ( non compulsory) masks prior to Covid - when killer flu was rampant?

Flu not so "killer" or contageous as Covid in all its forms.

 

[Ade]

If anyone knew wearing a mask could help stop someone else getting covid, why wouldn’t they do it?

Exactly !! I always wear a mask when I'm outside my house & when in the company of people. not from my household. Past three weeks saw me coughing incessantly, displaying all CoVId and Flu symptoms. Got tested 4 times in the past 2 weeks, with all negative to CoVID. The folks at Garran seem to know me by now

[ Imagine walking to the CoVID testing center and the person at the entrance addresses you "Welcome back, Mr. Ade", just kidding ]

I catch cold very easily and CBR winters are not easy on my health. So I always wear a mask beanie, sweater etc to,

a/ to prevent me from catching a cold
b/ masks, to make sure I don't accidently cough or sneeze when in company of others
c/ to prevent catching any allergies/infections from others (not that anyone would "willingly/wantonly" pass on an infection. Better to be safe than sorry ... )

 

[Beano]

We should ban cars too. Have you seen how many people those things kill? I don't think it's worth the risk.

The difference between Flu and Covid is like taking a walk across a street in Moree, Lismore, etc as opposed to trying to cross six lanes on the Sydney Harbour bridge through the traffic. The later is greater risk all round, but may be the same type of vehicle in both..

 

[Beano]

Exactly !! I always wear a mask when I'm outside my house & when in the company of people. not from my household. Past three weeks saw me coughing incessantly, displaying all CoVId and Flu symptoms. Got tested 4 times in the past 2 weeks, with all negative to CoVID. The folks at Garran seem to know me by now

I catch cold very easily and CBR winters are not easy on my health. So I always wear a mask beanie, sweater etc to,

a/ to prevent me from catching a cold
b/ masks, to make sure I don't accidently cough or sneeze when in company of others
c/ to prevent catching any allergies/infections from others (not that anyone would "willingly/wantonly" pass on an infection. Better to be safe than sorry ...

Is CBR safe then? I going to be there next week. Anyway, I like your post.

 

[Ade]

Is CBR safe then?

I'm not sure if I'd put it that way ... I believe any city/town/country/suburb now is both safe & not safe ... As you can national stats, every major city is reporting large number of infections each day ... CoVID is pretty much everywhere and this is the new normal ... I ensure that I practice hygiene, social distancing (where possible), wear a mask and carry a sanitized on me at all times & use it as & when needed. I try to avoid huge gatherings/crowd (where possible, say, when waiting for tram or bus, I stand a few feet away from others etc)

As someone mentioned earlier, CoVID is going to be "new" flu, in addition to the existing flu so better to get used to it

 

[Beano]

I'm not sure if I'd put it that way ... I believe any city/town/country/suburb now is both safe & not safe ... As you can national stats, every major city is reporting large number of infections each day ... CoVID is pretty much everywhere and this is the new normal ... I ensure that I practice hygiene, social distancing (where possible), wear a mask and carry a sanitized on me at all times & use it as & when needed. I try to avoid huge gatherings/crowd (where possible, say, when waiting for tram or bus, I stand a few feet away from others etc)

As someone mentioned earlier, CoVID is going to be "new" flu, in addition to the existing flu so better to get used to it

Sorry, just joking. I'm going to be from Coolangatta to Brisbane first, the Sydney after. CBR will be a small part of my journey, and how could I not go to Bruce!

 

[RooFlyer]

Flu not so "killer" or contageous as Covid in all its forms.

Well I guess if flu kills the person concerned, that's a moot point.

I’m not contesting the wearing of masks, I’m just querying whether or not people previously took mask protection against 'infection' ( which was the criterion mentioned in the post I quoted) versus what they might do today.

 

[justin23]

Is CBR safe then? I going to be there next week. Anyway, I like your post.

I saw my GP here in freezing Canberra for the first time in over 3 years the other day and he wondered why I hadn't come to visit.... I've not got sick cause i've not been mixing with people.

In an ideal world if people were coughing or had the cold, they'd wear a mask. The issue is government gave up on that, and airports are no more dangerous than anywhere else. I go covid likely from the theatre in May. Definitely not the flu and definitely not something i want to catch again. However I really struggle with masks, I sweat profusely, i then get itchy. I'll wear them if mandated, but not by choice. Hopefully one thing that changes is sick people will work from home if they can and not come into offices.

 

[puchu]

I think we can all agree that we should be doing basic human acts of decency like staying home if ill, and not sneezing in someone's face.

 

[Must...Fly!]

I think we can all agree that we should be doing basic human acts of decency like staying home if ill, and not sneezing in someone's face.

Like the before times...

 

[puchu]

Like the before times...

Yes, but hopefully with fewer people thinking that they have to be at work while sick, and with fewer people not covering their faces when sneezing or coughing!

 

[fersea]

P.S. I have not had Covid. It has nothing to do with luck. It's because I've taken appropriate steps to protect myself. I have a 5 year old gorgeous daughter and I want to see her mature into a beautiful adult.

That 5 year old daughter is far more chance of giving you covid rather than some maskless stranger that stands next to you at the supermarket or in a line at an airport.

That's not to suggest your daughter is any sort of a bad person, but the reality is nearly everyone I know who has had covid has regular contact with little kids. Its also probably unlikely that the stranger at the supermarket is going to hug and kiss you, whereas I assume that is common place with your daughter.

 

[fersea]

I meant *my* symptoms are not life threatening. But they are still unpleasant. Unpleasant enough that i don’t want covid every year.

I am yet to find one person that wants to get Covid. The only possible exceptions were during the close contact rules where some people were forced to isolate for a number of weeks because family members had it. They felt that it was inevitable so the sooner they got it themselves the better and they would be free from isolation. But in general, I think we can say that no one wants to get covid.

The question is what price are you willing to pay to reduce your risk? For two years, we had governments deciding that for us where basically all aspects of normal life were willing to be sacrificed to avoid the spread. The cost of that was huge, both in monetary terms and in relation to the quality of life that people had and the things they were forced to miss out on.

It is obvious that as a community most people are unwilling to continue to pay that high a price. Wearing masks are obviously not as high a cost as that, both in terms of the cost of the actual mask and the inconvenience but it is still a considerable price to not be able to breath normally. Human beings are not designed to have their noses and mouths covered basically.

I think that it is now up to the individual to make their own choices and if they choose to wear a mask that is fine, and they should do so without judgement, but by the same token for those that choose not to, that should be their choice too.

 

[Beano]

That 5 year old daughter is far more chance of giving you covid rather than some maskless stranger that stands next to you at the supermarket or in a line at an airport.

That's not to suggest your daughter is any sort of a bad person, but the reality is nearly everyone I know who has had covid has regular contact with little kids. Its also probably unlikely that the stranger at the supermarket is going to hug and kiss you, whereas I assume that is common place with your daughter.

But where did the children get it? Perhaps there is an adult in the loop and they could be standing/sitting next to you?

 

[JohnM]

I am yet to find one person that wants to get Covid.

Well, I wanted to get it - and I did. It was back at Easter when my son's wedding became a super-spreader event, and after which I had a lot of travel planned following the WA border finally opening. The timing was perfect.

I am triple-vaxxed and, although over 70, I have no comorbidities and throughout my life I've never been knocked around by common colds or the flu, so I reckoned given all the reported characteristics of the Omicron variant, the chances of me becoming badly ill with the 'rona were low.

And so it was. Now my antibody spectrum and titre is likely to be optimal and I'm not on edge about getting it while travelling (not for fear of the virus; rather the possibility of travel disruption) - and yes, I know it's possible to catch it again, but the odds are not likely to be so high and I know that symptoms for me are again likely to be trivial.

My partner was also 'happy' to get it for the same reasons as me. I'm sure that we are not orphans in that regard.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I think that it is now up to the individual to make their own choices and if they choose to wear a mask that is fine, and they should do so without judgement, but by the same token for those that choose not to, that should be their choice too.

But it is the person who *has* covid that provides the most benefit - to others - in wearing a mask and stopping the spread.

Doesn’t that change it from an issue of personal choice?