Meanwhile Japanese people, for all their faults, put a fucking mask on when they get a cold because that’s seen as a decent thing to do.
Yes, but they’re still expected to come into work even when they’re ready to fall over.
Sounds like America then
If you think America is bad, you really need to look more into Japanese Black Companies. They really take the cake on toxic work cultural. Imagine being socially obligated to get black out drunk with your boss.
‘If you think America is bad’ is wholly unnecessary when you consider that socialized healthcare hardly exists, public education is a living corpse of severely underpaid teachers, mass shootings (I’ve been in one), mandatory cost of car ownership, and so many other fucked up things.
I’m not saying that Japan is a good place to live, because it has a myriad of it’s own problems and I personally wouldn’t want to live there. I just think we should give people some credit for the shit Americans put up with too.
True story: Stalin did this every night with his inner circle. Attendance was mandatory assuming you wanted to live.
Behind the bastards did a great episode on it.
hmmm. Death or all your coworkers slightly judging you? White collar work sounds annoying.
… It’s doubly true for blue collar workers in Asia.
White collar workers get like 15-20 days off a year in Korea, and these are also used for sick days - at enlightened companies, you can work from home on a sick day and have it not count as leave…
I don’t know that much about what goes on in blue collar work, but something tells me the workplaces for natives just that are just a few steps above the blue collar labor done by migrants living in barracks in isolated locales working 60+ hour weeks aren’t the type to liberally give sick days.
If it weren’t for the work culture, I would love to live in Japan.
And the racism
That’s true, they hate us*.
*Anyone that isn’t Japanese
We make it so easy
My boyfriend is in nursing school, and they have some sort of program where you can move there and get a house for cheap, if not free. I’m sure they’re not great houses and would need some work done, but still a great deal. We considered it for a hot minute…
But then I started thinking about that stuff, and did some more research into what it’s like to move there. Some really awesome aspects to it, but I think we are gonna pass.
That is the decent thing to do. Well the most decent thing is to isolate yourself when you’re sick.
Or you know
I just stay home when I’m sick ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Haven’t they been seeing a rise in anti mask/vaxxers since covid misinformation during initial lockdowns?
I don’t know. But I do know masking up when sick was a thing even before covid.
It’s an ugly fact of human nature that we see way higher levels of social responsibility in relatively ethnically homogeneous societies like Japan.
It’s still surprising to me that so few after 4 years of this still do not understand the airborne nature of respiratory illnesses especially Rona with all that has gone on.
Then again I might be expecting too much from people…
“Yes, if Fox News says Biden opposes people jumping off of bridges.”
I seriously wonder how many MAGA morons would suffocate themselves if Biden (or better, Obama) came out as pro-oxygen.
They would just declare that Biden (or Obama) is agreeing that they shouldn’t wear masks, because that interferes with their oxygen intake. They will always try to twist whatever Biden says, no matter how sensible it is.
I think you just solved the problem.
If all my friends jumped off a bridge, there’s probably a good reason. I keep pretty intelligent friends. The bridge is probably collapsing or some shit. Wear a fuckin mask tho.
Pretty much. Always is. Now that I think about it, I probably got that from this lol.
The FOMO would be too much. I’d jump
If all my friends jumped off a bridge I’d assume there is good reason AND hell now that they’ve jumped I don’t need to ignore that intrusive thought that’s been telling me to jump.
I’m with you my dude, let’s do a flip.
“So what, now I’m just supposed to do anything that Rosa does? What if she… jumped off a cliff?”
“If Rosa were to have jumped off a cliff, she would have done her due diligence regarding the height of the cliff, the depth of the water, the angle of entry… so, yes, if you see Rosa jump off a cliff, by all means, jump off a cliff.”
"You jump off a cliff."
“Gladly. Provided Rosa did first.”
Obligatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/1170/
Is it better to have bridge collapse on top of you?
Probably. At least you’re a bit clear. It’s a shit situation regardless lmao
I think one of the better cultural shifts, at least in the US, to come from the pandemic is the number of people wearing masks if they feel even slightly ill and have to go out in public. Better yet, a number of businesses seem to actually mean it when they tell employees to stay home if they’re sick, rather than perversly commending those who come into the workplace when they are quite obviously suffering and contagious.
Get vaccinated, wear a mask if you feel ill, you just want to, or you’ll be visiting someone at high risk indoors. That said, and I know I will lose most of you here, it doesn’t seem necessary for the general populace, when they’re not ill, to follow masking guidelines when in public. I’m not a medical professional, so I simply follow CDC guidelines. To my knowledge, there isn’t a mask recommendatiom for the general populace at this time.
Purplely anecdotal, but since our hospital system is no longer critically overburdened, and folks are mostly vaccinated, it has been my observation that the negative impact on people’s mental health, that the isolation of masking and social distancing induces, is a greater risk to the health of the general public than Covid and its variants. If you choose to take additional precautions, that is absolutely your perogative and you should feel empowered to do so. It’d be great if we could have it all, but people have to do what’s right for them to make it through another day.
I got banned from Lemmy.world for saying that the main purpose of the masks were to protect others from you instead of protecting you from others.
It’s like everyone forgot that masks were part of the “stop the spread” campaign.
Partially correct – cloth masks protect others, but an N95 actually protects the wearer.
… as well. Right?
Oops that’s what I meant, thanks.
Yup. I keeps things from getting out, but also can help from things getting in. I do patient transportation at a hospital, and sometimes we have to wear PPE before going in a room. Not just to keep the patient safe, but also ourselves.
Yup. A n95 with a proper fit is really the only mask that is going to actively protect you. Every other mask acts to mitigate spread from you.
And many people don’t wear their masks properly, so it still really only protects others from them.
Is there studies that determined how the effectiveness of masks degraded when improperly worn?
That’d be interesting to read. My gut feeling is to say if you wear it over your nose and mouth, even incorrectly, it is still better than nothing. But sometimes, intuition is wrong.
I mean, it’s like condoms. Pretty effective when worn correctly.
A mask needs a seal to work properly. It doesn’t matter what filtration you have if air is getting in other ways.
Considering how air work vs fluids, I’d say there is a difference.
I agree with you that for a complete protection, a sealed n95 is the way to go.
If you wear your mask improperly, will the viral charge that spread be the same? Some should stay strapped in the mask.
But anyways, it was a small bubble
And someone got angry with me when I said that only masks was a half measure and if you’re thinking you might be around contagious people, you should also wear a face shield to protect against accidental spits or other moister getting in your eyes.
They ban for something like this? That makes me sad.
It was for “misinformation”. Only a 3 day ban, but server performance had already been shit so I changed instances.
Huh? “maskless again”? Are there places that still have mask mandates?
A mask mandate was recently reinstated for New York City’s public hospitals due to an increase in flu/COVID/RSV infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently warned that respiratory illnesses are on the rise across the country. Just before Christmas, national COVID-19 hospitalizations jumped 17% in one week.
“I think that’s a major reason why we’re seeing this rise in not only cases, but also hospitalizations. Because we’ve just had Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, so a lot of people are gathering from all over the country,” Roy told NY1.
Pretty ridiculous that they’re not permanent in hospitals
Agreed!
absolutely bonkers that anyone walks into a hospital without a mask. it’s the place where disease and illness get together for a 24/7 germ orgy
Some places have been encouraging but not mandating indoor masks due to the usual uptick in winter for COVID and flu
We lived in a small town with the bridge being one of the best spots to jump off of into the lake. So after the first time our parents used that saying we pointed that out and they never did it again hahaha.
Yeah, I lived in Florida for a bit. We had a spot everyone just called the jumping bridge. Because it was a bridge that people would jump from. It was a cool hangout spot.
deleted by creator
“Reasonably” is doing a lot of work here. The same exact reasons for masking and distancing apply now just as before. Infections and hospitalizations and deaths are still commonplace. Each variant makes the vaccines less and less effective, and each shared breath you draw in public could spell the end for some idiot fox-news-watching boomer who somehow still hasn’t bit it from covid.
If there was any point to masking before, then there’s still one now. Over 1 million people are dead and they’re still dying while we give up on masks for convenience.
As someone who has had all the shots and boosters but still suffering from long covid a year later, please wear a mask if you feel ill. It’s not just hospitalizations that matter. A ton of people are not well enough to return to their lives years later. I’m fortunate that I have basically a light version of it, but some people cannot even walk to the mailbox anymore, and no one knows if or when they will get better.
deleted by creator
TIL some still use face masks
Edit: people have trouble understanding that the world is a big place. I haven’t seen a person wear a mask, where I live, for over a year now
Hey, get this: did you know people wore face masks before COVID? That’s right! Little known fact.
In fact, many people in Asian countries used to be seen wearing masks in enclosed spaces like subways when they are sick, purely out of consideration for the health of others. Wow!
The more you know…
Oh yeah sure! I knew. But we didn’t get memes about them and it wasn’t in what sounds like a western family on that post
Some people have never stopped masking where I am. I’ve asked my partner to mask up when going any place indoors where sick people can’t avoid (pharmacy, groceries, etc). We don’t mask at a bar, but we do mask at a concert. The difference is that a concert happens once and tickets spoil. A bar is available every night, and sick people are more likely to stay home.
Unless you’re immumodeficent or something, I can’t imagine living like this in 2023.
I can’t believe people still act like putting a tiny piece of fabric on your face is even an inconvenience. So fucking dramatic “I can’t imagine living like this” its like living a regular life except sometimes you go an public and you put a little piece of fabric on your face. It’s similar in concept in some ways to how when you go in public you use pieces of fabric to cover your genitals, etc. oh man what a crazy fucking bizarro world can’t even imagine if we had to put fabric on parts of us when interacting in public.
I don’t think any of you online mask warriors are actually wearing them in public. I live in New York and no one is, so I assume that this is just another part of your generation’s perpetually online fantasy existence.
You’re right. If I don’t see it, it’s not real. There’s snow in my backyard so global warming is a hoax. /S
Assuming that everyone on the internet is a liar because the truth would be inconvenient? Seems a bit like projection to me
I can’t imagine that’s at all true, it just probably doesn’t register for you because it’s not at all a big deal. I’m in Boston and I still see plenty of people regularly masking. A minority to be sure, but still substantial. And I even sometimes do myself if I feel a little sniffly, just to be safe. At the end of the day, it’s shocking how many people are infantile little bitch babies about wearing a fucking mask.
I’ve had 3 vaccines and I stay home if I’m sick. I’m not wearing a mask just because. Even if self righteous online bullies want me to.
I live in Seattle and see masks everywhere I go. Can’t go to a grocery store without seeing a bunch of people masked up.
But then again, we are known for being compassionate* and progressive.
*Mileage may vary if you’re homeless.
a lot of people have anxiety/panic disorders, and putting a mask on causes a feeling that they can’t breathe even though it actually adds very little resistance if any. i’m one of those people, and i never got used to it after having to use them at work for a year. luckily i don’t live in a densely populated area, so nobody wears them anymore and i don’t have to either.
I can’t believe people still act like putting a tiny piece of fabric on your face is even an inconvenience.
I can’t believe in 2024 a person would act like a fabric mask does anything.
The science is out there now, you have to have a very tight-fitting new and clean n95 to have any chance at slowing down covid. Those are inconvenient and still expensive and if I was regularly masking properly it’d be a huge expense.
And if you’re not masking properly, you might as well wear a plague mask as your protective fetish.
Why anyone would do proper masking “preventatively” when you’re vaccinated and just a low level general risk of catching what is mostly a bad cold is honestly crazy to me. We now understand how covid works, who is at risk, what settings we can make a difference (ie indoors with extended exposure). There’s no reason to remain so scared anymore.
And I’m not anti-mask–I was early to mask, first with n95s later I had a fabric mask before switching back to n95. And I masked while indoors a lot longer than most people even after I was vaccinated because my GF’s mom was undergoing chemo summer 2021. But I occasionally still see people masking outside, in dirty reused surgeons masks and it really makes no sense.
“fabric” is a generic term and what I used to include all masks, including n95s. Also, you don’t understand risk reduction.
You don’t know what I know, lol.
Why anyone would do proper seatbelting “preventatively” when you have airbags and your car is built with crumple zones and just a low level general risk of getting in what is mostly a fender bender is honestly crazy to me. We now understand how collisions work, where they happen, how to build cars safer (ie with more airbags). There’s no reason to remain so scared anymore.
Edit for context: I don’t literally think this, I was mocking something from the removed comment
Have fun in 2023, I’ll stick to living in the current year.
It’s mainly if you have contact with vulnerable people. COVID and flu both get upticks in the winter months, and hit the elderly and immunocompromised pretty hard.
That’s fair but not really relevant to the meme above then
True. The whole mask thing right now is very different to what it was in 2020-2021. It isn’t mandatory, just a recommendation.
I’m not militant about it but I keep 2 masks in my car and use em if I remember. I’ve only had covid mildly once and never have caught the flu in my life, but learning I could be an asymptotic carrier I decided no point in not wearing it when I remember.
I still use them if I am the one who is sick to prevent spreading, or if I’m going to be going on a trip soon to prevent me being sick and ruining the vacation, or if I’m around vulnerable people. The vacation one might sound silly, but I had a very close call this year where a family trip that couldn’t be canceled and had to be planned a year in advance was almost ruined by everyone getting sick a few days before. We lucked out and it was very mild, but it could have been something nasty that made us cancel the trip. So now I wear a mask when going out in public a couple weeks before a trip.
I’m absolutely masking before any vacations. I’m going on a trip I’ve wanted to do for decades this fall, and no way am I risking missing it. The last “vacation” I was supposed to have (in 2019) got ruined by some asshole coughing up a lung on the plane and I spent a week in Aruba miserable in bed, which was a great use of my limited time off and money. Not doing that again if I can help it.
I can’t afford to miss work 🤷♀️
I thought the mask was mainly for other people? I remember it being hotly debated but last I remember seeing anything I think that was what was said
Yeah, it catches (lots of but not all) aerosolized saliva from the wearer’s mouth, which means a carrier is putting less viruses into the air. It’s far less effective the other way: stopping viruses in the air getting into your lungs, but it’s slightly better than nothing.
So, if someone feels sick but cannot miss work, this allows them to lower the risk they pose to others near them.
The responses to this are hilarious.
It’s 2024. Covid is no longer that much worse than the flu. Unless you have some condition, you don’t need to mask anymore. Covid is still a thing, yes, and masks still help, but it’s not going away, we’re better prepared for it, and it’s evolving to be more infectious and less lethal.
It’s really hard to find data by year, but the second graph on this page is close enough: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm
So yeah, wear a mask if you want, but don’t shame others for refusing to do so.
Covid is no longer that much worse than the flu.
People bandy about that it’s no worse than flu as though that’s like saying it’s no worse than a bad cold. Flu still kills thousands each year and will knock you on your arse for a fortnight.
evolving to be more infectious and less lethal
It was already around 3 times more infectious than the flu. If it’s getting more infectious and is still just not that much worse than the flu we’re in for a rough time.
And let’s not forget about playing long-covid roulette every time you get infected!
Masks help preventing spread, they help a little to stop you from catching it but it’s more about spread prevention, refusing to wear one because YOU’LL be okay is selfish.
I won’t shame you for it, but I am making you aware that you’re being selfish.
also helps to slow mutations. more spread means more generations of mutable virus.
Well I assumed that wearing a mask and/or staying home if you actually have covid is a given, but I guess with some people’s jobs that’s not exactly the case.
I’ll repeat what has been said about COVID consistently on all news sources across the globe.
You can be asymptomatic, not knowing you have it, and spread it. Wearing a mask around people that are vulnerable protects them even if you feel okay.
Covid is not entirely over, though. People can still die from it if unvaccinated
Yeah, and the death rate is still higher than the flu, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was in the first two years.
Covid is not over, but the pandemic is.
No doubt
Yes I would jump of the bridge because if I have friends, and I mean true friends, why wouldn’t I want to jump off that bridge?
“All my friends jumped off leaving me with nothing to live for, so why not?”
Yeah man, take a deep breath, real deep.
Can’t we just all be happy that those mandates are over?
Are you seriously feeling nostalgic about THAT?
As someone with autoimmune disorders it will never be over for me until covid is gone. Lost a friend with muscular dystrophy to it in 2022. There are still millions of vulnerable people out there fighting this thing to the literal death. When you take precautions the life you save may not be your own.
deleted by creator
The good news is that studies have shown masks aren’t all that effective so no one needs to worry about this anymore. If you want to wear a mask, ok, if you don’t want to wear a mask, ok. Also, COVID mortality is way down. Any concerns about masks or COVID can be relegated to statistical insignificance when it comes to trying to control other people’s behavior.
Effective at what though? I thought the main point of wearing a mask was that you were less likely to spread your sickness to others, especially if you weren’t symptomatic yet.
Is it so effective that you need to be concerned if other people are wearing a mask? Also, that would be quite a different concern than this submission is hinting at.
The main point to wearing a mask is so you don’t cough and spit over everything and everyone. They are meant to mitigate the spread of the virus. It was never going to stop it.
Please. Stop trying to take away my God-given right to sneeze, cough, and spit all over everyone. And don’t get me started on those glass “sneeze guards” at the buffet!
great! I guess surgeons and doctors can stop wearing them all together now thank fucking goodness for these studies please share them.
deleted by creator
