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I take back what I said about NKY. Was over in Union in Boone County and lots of people in Culver's walking around without or poorly worn masks. At least in Campbell County, especially in Newport and around NKU you see proper usage.
Ive already had the vaccine, so I threw my masks out, but Im still occasionally asked about it when I go in different stores, Target is really strict, they have an employee standing by the entrance door making sure people have masks on...Ive literally told the girl 4 different times Ive already had the vaccine!
I get the impression they still want people to wear masks, even if they had the vaccine...I dont get it?
People who are fully vaccinated still can (very rarely) be carriers or even contract the virus themselves (also very rarely). Rather than asking all who enter to produce their vaccination certificates or wear a mask, it is far simply and more time-effective to require masking for all, so that's what many businesses do or have done. Now, that's starting to change, with some chains eliminating the mask requirement. Yet other national chains still require customers to mask up.
I'm fully vaccinated, but continue to wear my mask where it's required (or where it seems sensible), since that's the most efficient in terms of time. I keep extra masks in the car for just such events.
However, I dispensed with a mask at a recent outdoor family wedding in another state, where all of my relatives were either fully or in one case, partly vaccinated (kept social distance with her). A handful of young children were present, and they obviously were unvaccinated. The reception was in a converted barn, and most of my relatives and I sat at the table nearest the open double-barn doors, while ceiling fans helped move the air around (hope this was a good thing). As of today, neither I nor any of my other relatives or anyone else as far as I know has fallen ill of Covid.
I stayed at a total of five different places while on my trip, and brought Lysol spray and wipes with me, along with food I could prepare and eat either outside or in my room. I also made use of fast food drive-through windows while on the road, ate at restaurants or hotel/lodge dining rooms four or five times, and stayed at three state parks along the way, after seeing that state park facilities where I was heading were being very meticulous about cleaning and sanitizing their rooms.
Planning carefully and judiciously paid off for me in helping maintain peace of mind while away from home for the first time in 14 or 15 months.
So - few or no masks at the wedding, but at Kroger's last evening, every single person I saw - with one exception, an overweight middle-aged male customer - wore a mask and most were consciously observing or at least attempting social distancing., as requested/required by Kroger.
Things are gradually returning to a new, still somewhat diminished normal, but it won't happen overnight - nor should it. Nor should every state be on the same schedule, as Covid-19 danger rates vary so widely still. But things are looking much brighter now, though it's not yet time to toss all precautions to the winds.
Can't say what others should do - but for me, figuring out how to safely enjoy my previous favorite activities without endangering myself or others is key, and to my relief and delight, most of those activities are again becoming very do-able. Just gotta figure out how to do them!
People who are fully vaccinated still can (very rarely) be carriers or even contract the virus themselves (also very rarely). Rather than asking all who enter to produce their vaccination certificates or wear a mask, it is far simply and more time-effective to require masking for all, so that's what many businesses do or have done. Now, that's starting to change, with some chains eliminating the mask requirement. Yet other national chains still require customers to mask up.
I'm fully vaccinated, but continue to wear my mask where it's required (or where it seems sensible), since that's the most efficient in terms of time. I keep extra masks in the car for just such events.
However, I dispensed with a mask at a recent outdoor family wedding in another state, where all of my relatives were either fully or in one case, partly vaccinated (kept social distance with her). A handful of young children were present, and they obviously were unvaccinated. The reception was in a converted barn, and most of my relatives and I sat at the table nearest the open double-barn doors, while ceiling fans helped move the air around (hope this was a good thing). As of today, neither I nor any of my other relatives or anyone else as far as I know has fallen ill of Covid.
I stayed at a total of five different places while on my trip, and brought Lysol spray and wipes with me, along with food I could prepare and eat either outside or in my room. I also made use of fast food drive-through windows while on the road, ate at restaurants or hotel/lodge dining rooms four or five times, and stayed at three state parks along the way, after seeing that state park facilities where I was heading were being very meticulous about cleaning and sanitizing their rooms.
Planning carefully and judiciously paid off for me in helping maintain peace of mind while away from home for the first time in 14 or 15 months.
So - few or no masks at the wedding, but at Kroger's last evening, every single person I saw - with one exception, an overweight middle-aged male customer - wore a mask and most were consciously observing or at least attempting social distancing., as requested/required by Kroger.
Things are gradually returning to a new, still somewhat diminished normal, but it won't happen overnight - nor should it. Nor should every state be on the same schedule, as Covid-19 danger rates vary so widely still. But things are looking much brighter now, though it's not yet time to toss all precautions to the winds.
Can't say what others should do - but for me, figuring out how to safely enjoy my previous favorite activities without endangering myself or others is key, and to my relief and delight, most of those activities are again becoming very do-able. Just gotta figure out how to do them!
1- You can not catch Covid from surfaces, it is spread through aerosol transmission. Other than the wedding, you had more to worry about from your hotel HVAC systems than any other means and thanks to trying to prevent Legionaries Disease, even that is rare.
2- The maskless wedding, where you were more likely to have sustained contact (+15 min) with the same person was the one thing you did that had super-spreader potential. Fortunately, you are fully vaccinated so it doesn’t matter regardless. Breakthrough cases, which very much are happening, are so far highly unlikely to result in hospitalization or illness beyond annoying.
3- Kentucky is one of the states that should be opened ahead of other states that have already ditched the masks.
You know why CDC suddenly changed their tune? For the most part, the numbers are showing that states that ended mask mandates have had lower transmission rates that states that still had mask mandates. Want to know one of the theories being kicked around behind that one - rebreathing infected air potentially may increase the viral load of the initial infection, creating a personal super-spreader. That might end up being pure horse hockey, like so many other theories that have been proposed, but it is no more out of the realm of possibilities as some of the other.
Here’s the bottom, if you want to wear a mask to feel personally safer, by all means do so. I absolutely support your right to do so until your death and even beyond, if you want to wear one in your casket. But, Governor Beshear, whose Covid measures I have supported until now, can kiss my butt because THE SCIENCE does not support the fully vaccinated or previously infected keeping on the masks anymore, especially based on 12-15 year olds get vaccinated.
And (bad word), get the (bad word) masks off the kids already. There is absolutely no science that supported that, let alone still supports it.
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I did a recon trip to KY last weekend. Only had to wear masks in the airport and on flights. There was one coffee shop pushing for masks. The other restaurants I visited were maskless, as well as the chain hotels (Marriott/Hilton), and other establishments I visited.
I too am firmly against kids not wearing masks. We have two little ones. My wife has insisted on the older of the two wearing it, I have insisted against. I know she's still nervous about a few things so I'm trying to empathize with her. Even said I didn't care if she wanted to continue wearing a mask even if I've already ditched mine, but to leave our kiddo out of it. We'll see, I think she'll come around, but I'm sure we're not the only household struggling through these kinds of difference of opinion.
Personally, I think this culture of over sanitizing things is going to backfire by both weakening our immune systems and killing all weak bacteria/viruses and leaving the strong ones.
There seems to be some misunderstanding of my reasons for caution during my recent trip, along with discounting some of my actions and reasons for certain choices I made during that time. So I hope this post will clarify a few things.
I live with a serious autoimmune disease, so it was necessary for me to be extra-cautious throughout the pandemic, particularly during my first out-of-state trip, as my situation differs from those of others whose immune systems function normally. In particular, my lungs only work at around 70%, so if I had caught Covid, I very likely would have been extremely ill and been far less likely to survive than would be a typical person of my years, etc.
Hence my continuing caution with masking, hand washing and sanitizing, avoiding crowded indoor spaces, taking additional sanitizing precautions, and getting vaccinated as soon as it was available to me (in late January and February). These were the recommendations for those with autoimmune conditions. I followed them, and am still here to tell the tale, thankfully.
As for sanitizing surfaces, I did advance research and learned that Arkansas, site of my travels, is blessed with state parks whose lodges and cabins are being routinely deep cleaned, fully aired, and sanitized between guests. Kentucky is doing the same, perhaps not quite as thoroughly. So guess where I stayed?? Right, three state park lodges!
The other three nights were spent in two chain motels which also had good ratings, though they didn't appear to be getting as thoroughly cleaned as were the state parks' facilities( I observed the cleaner at one of these places, and decided to do some additional cleaning myself after her efforts). I was away from these two places during the day, digging for quartz crystals near Hot Springs and later visiting with (inoculated) relatives in Little Rock.
Given the vulnerable state of my immune system, it never hurts to use Lysol on surfaces I encounter outside my home: even if Covid is rarely found on such surfaces, other infectious diseases can be transmitted this way. So when in doubt - spray. I also immediately use hand sanitizer anytime I return to my car after stopping for gas, snacks, etc.
Others' takes may and clearly do differ. But most others don't have immune system malfunctions.
So don't judge me and my choices by your choices. If I am to remain healthy, I have to factor in having an immune system which sometimes attacks my body and makes me vulnerable in ways others do not experience.
As for the outdoor - emphasis on outdoor - wedding, I sat with my family members who were all fully vaccinated, on an open porch overlooking the wedding site - two of my relatives are physically disabled and were unable to easily make their way to the chairs closer to the outdoor altar, where most of the other guests sat. Being with family was more important to me than was a close-up view of the wedding, so that's what I did.
The reception was in a large converted barn, with overhead fans and open double barn doors, next to which my relatives and I sat at a large round table. The tables were spaced six feet apart, as recommended.
As noted, it was shortly after this event that it was announced that outdoor activities are safe for all those who are fully vaccinated, and masks are no longer required for such activities for those who are vaccinated. I knew my relatives were vaccinated - I did not know if other guests were, so kept a cordial but recommended social distance from them while hanging out with my cousins, etc.
If anyone got sick as a result of having attended the outdoor wedding, word has not yet reached me (and I did get a couple of emails from the groom, one of my relatives, a couple of days ago). So it certainly could not be termed a "super-spreader event". Certainly none of my dozen relatives who were there have caught anything, much less Covid, as a result.
Again, others' behaviors and choices may vary. But I think we should all respect one another's choices, and assume there are good reasons for them, even if we individually view them as either overkill or careless. Mine were neither. They were what was right for me, and they were made with careful thought and advance research and preparation.
I 100% support your right to wear a mask - totally and without reservations. I also want the mandates over, like as in yesterday. We received an email first thing this morning that mask wearing on campus was now voluntary and that we were not allowed to ask students (adults) if they were vaccinated. As to whether that change applies to K-12, I haven’t heard from any of the districts we serve... they should be since the science says those masks should be off. Not that it really matters, most are done for the year anyway.
The time has come for all the mandates to end and for individuals to take back personally safeguarding their health as opposed to demanding others sacrifice.
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When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
As of today, it seems that the virus is hitting children the hardest here in Kentucky: those not yet eligible for vaccination, along with those who have just become eligible in the last couple of weeks. Good news is that many of those in the latter category are promptly being vaccinated.
Also as of today, over two million Kentuckians have been vaccinated, that number assisted by the younger individuals' eligibility. Around 85% of Kentuckians over seventy have now been vaccinated. The younger age groups are not doing nearly so well, both in terms of vaccinations, and now - in terms of Covid-19 cases.
If I had a child under the age of twelve, they'd be wearing a mask whenever they were in the company of others, particularly indoors.
If I had a child over the age of twelve - they'd be getting their shots as soon as they could be scheduled, and would remain masked when around others until they were two weeks beyond the booster.
While children generally have lighter cases of Covid-19, still = over 600 American children have died of Covid since the start of the pandemic. That's 600 too many young lives lost, and innumerable hearts broken.
Nothing to do with "freedom", "sacrifices", politics, or what others prefer. Instead, it's common sense and good parenting to keep kids masked when they are not yet vaccinated.
As of today, it seems that the virus is hitting children the hardest here in Kentucky: those not yet eligible for vaccination, along with those who have just become eligible in the last couple of weeks. Good news is that many of those in the latter category are promptly being vaccinated.
Also as of today, over two million Kentuckians have been vaccinated, that number assisted by the younger individuals' eligibility. Around 85% of Kentuckians over seventy have now been vaccinated. The younger age groups are not doing nearly so well, both in terms of vaccinations, and now - in terms of Covid-19 cases.
If I had a child under the age of twelve, they'd be wearing a mask whenever they were in the company of others, particularly indoors.
If I had a child over the age of twelve - they'd be getting their shots as soon as they could be scheduled, and would remain masked when around others until they were two weeks beyond the booster.
While children generally have lighter cases of Covid-19, still = over 600 American children have died of Covid since the start of the pandemic. That's 600 too many young lives lost, and innumerable hearts broken.
Nothing to do with "freedom", "sacrifices", politics, or what others prefer. Instead, it's common sense and good parenting to keep kids masked when they are not yet vaccinated.
There 78 suspected cases in the entire state, only 39 confirmed, all but 2 over the age of 14. At least 15 of those had been recently vaccinated. NONE hospitalized. NONE. Repeat after me, no children in the state are hospitalized for Covid and any hospitalized with it are there for a different reason and happen have Covid - like the one 14-year old getting elbow surgery.
Just stop already. STOP. You are fear mongering and doing a huge disservice. No parent should be masking their child under the age of 12 unless they have an something that makes them immuno-compromised.
You are vaccinated, you are now provided your own protection. Keep wearing your mask if that makes you feel more comfortable but you need to let go of your insistence that others must join you in being hyper-vigilant.
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When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
I fully expect some people to wear a mask the rest of their lives, even if they have never worn one before (covid) but, if that's what they think they need to do...I'm all for it. On the other hand, I would be very hesitant to confront anyone and suggest that they need to wear a mask as well, for any reason.
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