I really really want every workplace to acknowledge the importance of ventilation. Every workplace I know has people full in sanitation theater mode wiping down every surface constantly meanwhile windows are closed and no one’s wearing masks correctly. The illusion of safety from seeing people cleaning constantly without actual safety is what is fucking me up. there’s so many people who don’t even realize how profoundly dangerous these environments are.
someone tagged #really not sure if im supposed to always wear my mask or just around people#when im working at my desk and no one comes within 6 feet do i need a mask????
YES! always wear the mask if you are in an unventilated area
Please check out this article published October 28, 2020. https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html
An article in the prestigious Science magazine found that there is “overwhelming evidence” that airborne transmission is a “major transmission route” for the coronavirus, and the CDC now notes that, “under certain conditions, they seem to have infected others who were more than six feet [two meters] away. These transmissions occurred within enclosed spaces that had inadequate ventilation.
One of the big struggles of this pandemic has been virologists and epidemiologists trying to get recognition of the fact that the virus particles (in moisture from breath) are light enough to exist as an infectious aerosol that remains in the air for hours to days after it’s been breathed out unless the space is properly ventilated.
Your number one biggest risk of infection is inhaling unfiltered (unmasked) air that hasn’t been properly ventilated. The six feet rule is to allow the ventilation (or the wind) to work. If there isn’t anywhere for their breath to go, no clean air replacing it, you will get sick much more easily.
People’s breath is the most concentrated source of the virus right now. You’re much less likely to get sick from touching something they’ve touched (esp if you wash your hands often & don’t touch your face). Ventilate well to flush away all that breath, and wear a mask to filter out as much of the virus as possible.
More info:
(via hotvampireadjacent)