Are face coverings required or suggested where you live?

[GetawaysRus]

What amazes me is how many people are not wearing their masks correctly. We went grocery shopping last week and saw plenty of people with masks covering their mouths but with their noses peeking out. C'mon, people! You need to cover your mouth AND your nose. And if the mask is so loose that you need to use your hands to keep pushing it up, that's not good.

 

[SueDonJ]

Covering your face while being out and about can't hurt and may help to protect other people from you if you are an asymptomatic carrier, of course in conjunction with social distancing. YouTube has a million videos about how to make a mask with a bandana. Don't have a bandana? Rip up an old pillowcase, t-shirt, etc.

 

[Luanne]

One of our friend/neighbor and her daughter have a business of table wear. They are converting napkins into mask kits for the Navajo Nation (which has been particularly hard hit). They may also make some sets to sell. We're already told them we'll buy some.

 

[sue1947]

I made masks out of an old sheet. Friends who don't want to sew have done the no-sew options. There are tons of how-to videos on the net for all types.
My mother got one from a neighbor who was making bunches of them to distribute. They were the standard pattern with elastic around the ears. The elastic doesn't fit well and the mask is too small to cover enough area so the whole thing is mostly worthless. I found that using shoe laces for ties that fit around your ears is better. You can adjust to your individual face to make a better fitting mask. That way, you aren't always fiddling with it to keep it where it's supposed to be. I started with one that ties behind my head, but that is harder to tie with my hair getting in the way, and the ties around my ears are easier.

If you have a sewing machine, or access to one, they are very easy to make. Find some cotton material that is closely woven enough so you can't see light through it, but you can breathe through it. They don't have to look pretty, nobody is going to get up close and personal to make sure the seams were ironed and are straight.

 

[amycurl]

Remember, my mask protects you; your mask protects me. So many people don't get that.

 

[VacationForever]

If you can buy 3-ply surgical masks, they are preferable over homemade cloth masks.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Etsy has lots of stores selling masks. I ordered from 3 shops on April 3 and have only had one of them send me my masks so far. All ended up backlogged. I asked if I could get a refund from one and the answer was no. She has pushed out the delivery date twice so far.

I did get a couple very quickly from REI. The shipping date was over a week out, but I got my masks in 2 or 3 days. One fit really nice the first time I wore it, but it keeps sliding down now, making me touch my face much more than I would if I weren't wearing a mask.

I wish I hadn't throw out all of my bandanas. Those were probably the best.

I had the same issue with one vendor. The other one shipped right away. Pick "one day delivery" when searching.

 

[SueDonJ]

If you can buy 3-ply surgical masks, they are preferable over homemade cloth masks.

If you can buy 3-ply surgical masks, please at least think about keeping only what you need and donating the rest to your local hospitals and nursing homes - they're unable to get as many as they need.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I started out using the bandanna /rubber band mask often shown online, but have ordered a few from Etsy. That took a while for shipping but did arrive.

In my country they are strongly encouraged, but not mandatory. I am wearing a cloth mask when ever i need to go out into an area with other people. I keep a a couple in the car.

I don't wear one while working in my own yard or when i go for walks aground my neighborhood. I go early and rarely see anyone else. But even if i walk later its easy to stay a good distance apart in my neighborhood.

 

[VacationForever]

If you can buy 3-ply surgical masks, please at least think about keeping only what you need and donating the rest to your local hospitals and nursing homes - they're unable to get as many as they need.

From my understanding, N95 is severely short but they have no issue getting the 3-ply ones. I have been chatting with my friends who are nurses. The hospital issued them surgical masks where supply is not an issue but not N95. They don't feel that it protects them sufficiently with the surgical masks.

We have some left from when we used to clean cat litter boxes and we are using those. Most of those 3-ply ones that are currently sold are shipped from China and I would caution whether they are FDA approved or not. I found a company which sell ones that are FDA approved but still made in China.

 

[Panina]

Making it mandatory would be good. We have been going for walks the past 3 days and we wore a surgical mask, the 3-ply ones because we have a couple of boxes from when we were cleaning the cat litter boxes. We saw no one with masks. No biggie, we just dodged them before we got close.

I don’t wear one when I go for a walk. I make sure to also dodge before I get close to anyone. When I went to the doctors I wore the industrial 95 Because that is what I had in the house from when I sealed my tiles. I was in it over an hour and a half and I just cannot imagine wearing it during brisk walks. It was hard enough to breathe staying still.

 

[VacationForever]

I don’t wear one when I go for a walk. I make sure to also dodge before I get close to anyone. When I went to the doctors I wore the industrial 95 Because that is what I had in the house from when I sealed my tiles. I was in it over an hour and a half and I just cannot imagine wearing it during brisk walks. It was hard enough to breathe staying still.

Putting aside the lack of availability of N95, I would not want wear an N95 unless I am in clinic environment based on everything that I have read about how hard it is to breathe in one. The 3-ply ones are light enough to be worn on a walk but I still find myself breathing pretty hard through it in a brisk walk.

 

[TravelTime]

Masks are recommended in Placer County but not required. We wear masks when we go out.

 

[PigsDad]

Making it mandatory would be good. We have been going for walks the past 3 days and we wore a surgical mask, the 3-ply ones because we have a couple of boxes from when we were cleaning the cat litter boxes. We saw no one with masks. No biggie, we just dodged them before we got close.

Making masks mandatory for walking outside is silly. Very easy to maintain proper distance, and the risk of transmission is almost zero.

Kurt

 

[clifffaith]

Yes, masks are required in NJ.

Weird at first - foggy glasses, uncomfortable elastic around ears, not seeing any smiles - but you get used to them!

Maria

Washing your glasses with soap and water before going out helps tremendously with foggy glasses.

 

[VacationForever]

Making masks mandatory for walking outside is silly. Very easy to maintain proper distance, and the risk of transmission is almost zero.

Kurt

It depends. Just like the folks out on the beach, it depends on how many people are in your way when you walk.

 

[Brett]

Making masks mandatory for walking outside is silly. Very easy to maintain proper distance, and the risk of transmission is almost zero.

Kurt

I agree - but keep your distance

 

[geekette]

If you can buy 3-ply surgical masks, they are preferable over homemade cloth masks.

Can you actually buy those, tho? I haven't looked, I made some 2 ply for myself out of some great stiff cotton while I was making the run of them. I am glad I didn't waste much time on the little rectangles, I didn't find them to be that great.

 

[geekette]

I agree - but keep your distance

one of our big state parks is no longer allowing cars in, you have to come in on foot or bike or other means. There isn't much around the place, so you really have to want to go in. I would expect there are a lot of trail runners in there as that would be perfect - few people, no cars, no concern on it being mileage on foot to get there and back.

 

[VacationForever]

Can you actually buy those, tho? I haven't looked, I made some 2 ply for myself out of some great stiff cotton while I was making the run of them. I am glad I didn't waste much time on the little rectangles, I didn't find them to be that great.

You can if you are willing to pay higher price and a US-based company which keeps stock will send to you within a week. Most, if not all, of these masks come from China. You don't pay as much if you are willing to wait for the masks to be shipped directly from China. There are some suppliers who claimed that their masks are FDA approved, like the ones from a company owned by Alibaba. From my knowledge, surgical masks are not in short supply in the medical field, just the N95. But people are buying up surgical masks. In one report that I read that the 3-ply surgical masks keep out 56% of viruses whereas a simply made cloth mask keeps viruses away by only a few percentage points. It is better than nothing, of course. We used to use surgical masks whenever we cleaned cat litter boxes but we had to put our 2 kitties down last year so we still have some. Similarly with Lysol wipes, the container ones from Costco, we used Lysol wipes to clean cat litter box area and have a couple of containers left.

 

[easyrider]

Definitely not required but highly suggested in our area of Washington. If you sneeze or cough and were not wearing a mask in a store you will definitely get stink eye from every one fleeing the area, lol.

I do have a couple of masks but I don't wear them. I wore one at Home Depot but only a few people did so I took mine off.

Bill

 

[Luanne]

Definitely not required but highly suggested in our area of Washington. If you sneeze or cough and were not wearing a mask in a store you will definitely get stink eye from every one fleeing the area, lol.

I do have a couple of masks but I don't wear them. I wore one at Home Depot but only a few people did so I took mine off.

Bill

I don't care if other people are wearing masks, I'll wear one if I am in a public place. Wearing a mask protects them more than you, so maybe if others aren't wearing them you should take it off. I mean, if they don't care about you, why should you care about them.

 

[TravelTime]

After visiting my local grocer last Friday and seeing none of the employees wearing masks, we went over to a bigger grocery store today to pick up some items and check out the mask situation. We had to go out again today to get some docs notarized so this was not an extra shopping trip. At our large grocery store, all the employees were wearing masks. I was glad to see that. They also had a plastic shield between the cashiers and customers. I would estimate that about half of the customers had masks on. We were wearing masks. I really hope that my small local grocery store will start following the protocols. I am worried about their staff. BTW, our notary is an older gentleman and he said he is not worried about getting covid. He says he is healthy and can fight it off. It was nice to chat with him. It was the highlight of my day!

 

[PigsDad]

I saw a couple riding bike on our neighborhood street today. They were wearing masks but only over their mouths. Tell me how this make either them or anyone else "safer"? No way they would get within 10' of anyone, and without their noses covered, what's the point? Some people are so clueless, I have to say.

Kurt

 

[Monykalyn]

This is so true. Making them mandatory should also require that people understand their purpose and how to safely use them. Real (medical N95 type) masks are intended to block and absorb contaminants, so they should be like a sponge filled with virus, if they helped at all.

I see people touching, readjusting their masks over and over, then stuffing them in a purse or pocket when done. People wear masks and other coverings but continue to touch around their eyes.

They also need to be discarded or disinfected between each use. They can give people a false sense of security, just like wearing gloves does.

I very much doubt proper care of reusable masks is being taken by majority of public. We had to emphasize how to wash hands properly for goodness sake!
So what about the homeless population that don't have masks? Is the city going around daily handing out clean ones? Since everyone is so concerned about bad air? Homeless usually walk miles daily and who knows where they have been? kIds? who don't know to not take off or touch?
No not mandatory here