How are you dealing with life now with the Covid-19 virus situation? (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

Thanks Man, thanks Carlo!

I didn’t expect to be doing swabs, but that’s cool. Thanks for the description! And I’ll read that link Carlo.

Thanks again!
Nelson

 

[Malcolm R]

I've had both PCR and antigen testing. Both times they swabbed the nasal passage. Just tickled a bit.

You can get same day PCR testing, but it's pretty expensive and I'm not sure how widely it's available. We had one before traveling internationally back in October. We had our results in less than 4 hours. It was during the Delta surge, so we weren't sure how long a traditional, free, state-sponsored result would take, and we either needed a negative PCR test to enter the destination country or would have to pay to be tested at the airport on arrival then quarantine in the hotel until we got our results. So we decided the extra cost up-front was worthwhile (though it was $250 per test).

We then got an antigen test in that country prior to the flight home. They charged us $40 per test.

 

[Carlo_M]

Tests have evolved and improved since the beginning of the pandemic. The current antigen tests I've seen/done are now shallow nasal swabs, so you don't have to feel like you're potentially going to touch your brain with the swab.

My workplace has 1-2 day PCR results and they're saliva tests which apparently are more accurate, in the sense that the virus may show up in your saliva before it shows up in a nasal swab sample. The kit is literally a tiny tube and a funnel (and some mint candy for afterward). If you can spit, you can take this test.

 

[Nelson Au]

I heard the PCR test that’s done at my workplace is done with saliva too. I guess I’ll find out.

 

[Malcolm R]

then insert the tip of the swab into the thing and then pray you don't see the "bad" line, like a pregnancy test .

They seem to test for and find Covid in the wastewater treatment plants around here. Maybe they'll invent a test where you can just pee on a stick.

 

[Nelson Au]

Carlo, I got the antigen test kit yesterday at my workplace. And I did do the test, followed the instructions and as you described, it’s like a science experiment. The test kit is from Quidel and called the QuickVue At Home OTC Covid-19 Test. It is indeed a shallow nasal swab test. The swab is placed in a tube with a solution for a minute. Then a test stripe is inserted in the solution in the tube for 10 minutes. Then it’s removed and read. It was very clearly a blue line for me, which is negative.

I had to go to the office yesterday to film an interview for a project I’m working on. Interesting experience as there is a video production group in the company that makes videos for the company. So I had to stand in front of the camera and take my mask off. That had me more stressed then being in front of the camera, though that was stress inducing too! Fortunately the camera operator and director were several feet away. We were all vaxed and boosted. But still, I hope it was Covid free.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Like w/ most things challenging, 1st (couple) time into the relative unknown/unexperienced tends to come w/ some trepidation, but you'll probably gradually get the hang of it and learn to adjust and manage the risks and accompanying concerns/fears...

It's a brave new world out there (in a way)...

Cheers!

_Man_

 

[Nelson Au]

Yes, it’s very challenging new world now!

 

[moviebuff75]

Thank you, everyone for your kind thoughts.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey guys, thought I’d make a post about masks.

I recently went into the office for a few hours to take care of some tasks there and the front desk receptionist had N95 masks available for us to use. The company started to supply them because there’s been a rise of infections recently. they wanted us to wear the higher filtration masks at the office, sounds good to me! I took a few and I tried to get more information about them. They are 3M N95 8612F. I was curious what the difference is for these masks compared to the N95 8210 plus one can buy at Home Depot.

I went back to the office the next week and all those N95 8612F masks are gone! They had a different N95 branded as HDX from Home Depot that looks like foam. These are numbered TC-84A-5411 NIOSH N95. So like the 3M 8210 Plus, probably designed for construction type use.

Maybe there’s people here who have more knowledge on these. From what I have been able to find on-line is the 8612F is for health medical emergency use. They are distinguished by a green/blue color on the outside. From what I can tell, they are designed to keep particles from being expelled as well as prevent inhalation of particles and droplets.

The standard N95 8210 Plus from Home Depot protects the wearer from inhaling dust and fibers type particulates. These are white in color too. So for general construction type particulate protection.

The material looks very similar between the two. So maybe the green/blue color is from an external coating that adds to the filtration?

In doing some more research, I found that 3M offers an N95 1860 mask rated for surgery. So it keeps droplets from being expelled or inhaled. I might try to see if these are available to purchase.

I’ve been wearing a cloth mask made by Outdoor Reseach that I like because it covers over the nose very well and has a metal stripe inside that can be bent to match your nose for a good seal. Plus there is a pocket inside for filtering material they include. The filter material is sheets that look similar to the N95 material, but thinner. I use two sheets of that filter when I wear that mask.

With the advent of the N95 8612F mask from work, I’ve tried that N95 mask with a cloth mask over it. I cut off the elastic straps on the N95 and use the cloth mask to hold it on my face. My Outdoor Research cloth mask has adjustable straps so I can adjust the tightness of the mask against my face.

I know a lot of people hate wearing masks, but I’m kind of used to it as I wear the N95 masks when I do home renovation projects like cutting wood and sanding. So I’m sort of used to it. I know that the number of infections is starting to go down. But it’s not over yet. Even though I’m fully vaxed and boosted, i’m going to still wear a mask in public. I’m seeing people like Dr. Jennifer Ashton who appears on Good Morning America who reports on medical issues and Covid who knows what to do to prevent infection, And yet, she still got infected. So I can only guess she let her guard down or had her mask off while doing her job and that’s what happened.

 

[Malcolm R]

I thought N95 was a universal designation? I've not seen any guidance from health officials that draw any distinction between different models of N95's. All I've seen is to try and beware of possible counterfeits that are marked as N95 or KN95. I know when I was traveling last fall that the guidance said any masks with attached "filters" or "filter materials" were not permitted. Not quite sure why, as I have one N95 mask given to me by hospital staff that has a filter module attached on the outside.

Many recent people that were infected claimed they were following the "rules", such as Vincent Zhou at the Olympics, who tested positive and was out of competition after the first couple of days. Either they're not being truthful or omicron is just so transmissible it really makes no difference what you do if you come into contact with someone carrying the virus.

 

[DaveF]

Don’t think you need to double mask with an N95. Double masking is to approximate N95 performance with cloth mask and disposable “surgical” mask.

Might even make N95 perform worse if the extra pressure squishes or pushes the N95 out from being a good fit.

 

[DaveF]

A bit on the distinction on medical vs non-medical N95 certification

Mask up! The best face masks for use against COVID-19 [Updated]

Finding masks that meet CDC and WHO guidelines is tough. We did the work for you.

arstechnica.com

 

[DaveF]

KN95, KF94, and N95 Masks: What to Know and Where to Buy Them | Teen Vogue

KN95, KF94, and N95 Masks: What to Know and Where to Buy Them

According to an infectious disease specialist.

www.teenvogue.com

What’s the difference between N95, KN95, and KF94 masks?

According to Dr. Pierre, the difference between N95, KN95, and KF94 masks comes down to regulation and filtration. N95 face masks are regulated by the U.S. government and the CDC through the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (or NIOSH), and, according to the CDC, are meant to filter out at least 95% of tiny airborne particles. KN95 masks are regulated by the Chinese government and also filter out at least 95% of particles per China’s regulations. KF94 masks are regulated by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (KFDA) and block at least 94% of particles.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I’m a fan of the KN-95s imported by bonafidemasks.com - they’re not counterfeit and I find them very comfortable, more so than any combination of cloth or surgical masks I had tried previously.

As for how people get sick, I think there are lots of potential reasons and without any real attempt at contact tracing I don’t think we’ll ever get a definitive answer…some people don’t wear their masks properly (without even realizing it sometimes), some people are following all of the guidelines in their area but the guidelines being offered are insufficiently protective, and some people don’t think of others in their household or pod or whatever as being a potential source so they’re not as guarded as might be necessary to eliminate all risk. It still spreads from infectious people before they’re symptomatic but that factor always seems to be minimized, which means “I feel fine” does not necessarily equal “I am not sick”, which is confounding for a lot of people to wrap their heads around.

But properly fitted respirators used properly work. My mother and stepfather work in hospitals, often directly treating people with the virus, and they have not gotten it. As best as they’ve been able to determine, any of their colleagues that have gotten sick over the last two years didn’t get it at work - they got it from family or friends outside of work, or from going out to an indoor restaurant during a particularly infectious surge. They’ve had zero incidents among their coworkers where someone got it from a sick patient.

 

[Malcolm R]

I’m a fan of the KN-95s imported by bonafidemasks.com - they’re not counterfeit and I find them very comfortable, more so than any combination of cloth or surgical masks I had tried previously.

I ordered some of those, too, and like them.

 

[DaveF]

Many recent people that were infected claimed they were following the "rules", such as Vincent Zhou at the Olympics, who tested positive and was out of competition after the first couple of days. Either they're not being truthful or omicron is just so transmissible it really makes no difference what you do if you come into contact with someone carrying the virus.

Omicron, the reporting says, is extremely infectious. Up there with chicken pox and measles, I think I’ve read.

But protections work. I’ve flown cross country monthly the past six months. 12+ hours in crowded airports and packed planes. Didn’t get sick. Wearing a mask the whole time.

But masks aren’t impermeable. And Omicron is really infectious. And we don’t know anything about Olympic athletes‘ behaviors with “following the rules”.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

And we don’t know anything about Olympic athletes‘ behaviors with “following the rules”.

I think the thing with that is, in most places here and I assume over there as well, eating indoors with other people is “following the rules” but it’s probably one of the riskier activities for a bunch of people to do together. So someone here could be following the rules as laid out and get it from someone eating dinner on the other side of the restaurant - the six feet guidance was really based on the earlier, incorrect theory that the virus spread by droplets, which generally fall to the ground within six feet of the person expelling them. But the virus doesn’t spread through droplets, it’s airborne, so there probably isn’t a safe distance to be unmasked indoors with other people of unknown status. If it’s as infectious as measles, that means it can linger in the air after the infected person leaves, so just having dinner in a room alone can still be a risk if an infected person had been unmasked in the same room earlier in the day.

But in most places, going out to dinner is following the rules now. Going out to a movie or any other indoor activity maskless is following the rules in most places. Hanging out in a poorly ventilated bar with windows closed in the dead of winter is following the rules in most places. Which means that there are going to be more cases where people “following the rules” get it because the current rules don’t offer much protection in a lot of instances.

I’m not saying that to start a debate over what should be; it is what it is.

If, for whatever reason, trying to keep a zero covid household is important to you, “following the rules” in and of itself probably isn’t enough to achieve that goal.

 

[DaveF]

Yep.

We ate out last night. There's a strong aspect of kabuki theater during the pandemic, with mask wearing to enter and order...and then off for the dining ... and masks on to exit. As if the majority of time spent masks off is all protected by the show of wearing them in and out.

And if I got sick, I would not claim "I followed the rules and I got sick so the protocols are all a sham!" I'm making choices, eyes wide open.

So, in the abstract with the possible strawman "Olympian", I'm completely skeptical, verging on having no patience or interest at all, of such (feigned) innocence and naivete over getting sick despite "following the rules".

 

[James Luckard]

They seem to test for and find Covid in the wastewater treatment plants around here. Maybe they'll invent a test where you can just pee on a stick.

I don't think it's urine that the COVID is carried in, I think we'd have to do something entirely different with the stick.