Do you still wear a mask?

I hardly ever see people with masks anymore, at least here, so I'd be interested in a more global answer. Thanks!

#CovidIsNotOver

@Testoceratops Hmm I have to take my mask off to eat, which i don't often do in public but do during work. Would you consider that always or often?

@RadiantEmber Well I didn't think about it, but to eat you have no choice so I'd say always. Thanks for doing it btw

@transicorn Yep, thanks a lot for the article and for your answer.

I don't often go out and avoid busy hours and places, but if I see just one person with a mask, it's very uncommon (North East of France)

Saw one at the supermarket the other day, I was positively surprised

I have another question in mind, so I'm asking too.

If you don't mask anymore, would you reconsider if you got told you or one of your loved ones' health strictly needed it?

Thanks for your honesty and for your votes!

@Testoceratops I am always wearing when on trains, in grocery stores, crowded environments, night clubs, etc

I'm usually wearing on buses unless it's really empty, or in doctor's offices unless I'm getting labs drawn and need to reduce my panic attack probability

I don't wear as often as I used to in small group environments, or in places where there's a lot of air and not a lot of people (e.g. my favorite coffee shop)

I'm still having good luck, but I feel like I'm taking more risks than I would have a year ago, and I'm not sure how to feel about that. (I'm being more risky in a lot of sectors of my life overall, but mostly as an overcoming-anxiety thing)

my current operating rule is to minimize time sharing unfiltered air with random people in close quarters

(I'm still at 0 known covid infections, and honestly 0 flu/cold since 2020, so I think I'm either really lucky, have had asymptomatic infections I don't know about, or something)

@Testoceratops I mask in enclosed spaces with strangers, except when I eat something (but I don't restrict my eating because of it). I also sometimes mask in dense outdoor crowds, but the only situation this applies to that I get into regularly is a crowded public transport platform. I don't treat my coworkers as strangers, even though they don't mask.

The only friend I have in my city doesn't mask at all. He said I can come over some times, but I decline because I'm physically unable to go lately.

I'd like to see him when I'll can but don't know how to ask him if he could mask, because even a cold could put me in danger now.

I don't know how to ask him so I'll think about it. Don't wanna seem rude/judgemental or anything, but I really can't take risks anymore

@Testoceratops based on the way I've seen you talk in your posts, I'm relatively certain you can explain that need without sounding judgemental or rude. If he takes it as judgemental, he's probably projecting and you might have to deescalate but I bet you can, especially with a friend

@Testoceratops I put often because it's an always in some situations and a sometimes in others 😅 like I never go on public transit or to an event without wearing a mask (indoors or outdoors), or any indoor public place, but I'll walk around the block without it or sometimes take it off at a friend's house if they also usually mask. And unfortunately I can't really get away with not eating/drinking in public :/

@Testoceratops i still do but i don’t see many other people wearing them here in dublin or elsewhere in europe. i saw many more in seoul and especially in tokyo when i was there last year.

@Testoceratops
I wear mine in public. Though if there's not many people around, sometimes I don't.
If it's crowded, absolutely. I do it at airports.

@Testoceratops I'd mask if in crowd and not eating/drinking, but that's rare (and a resolution after a music event over a year ago where the one masked person wasn't me). Outside, shopping, at mall, there the need to not feel as appearing different wins and I focus on minimizing short-term stress.

If I had a friend wanting to visit and telling me to mask, I'd open all the windows and wear FFP2.

That in a city of a country present in rankings of cities with the worst air quality.

@Testoceratops I chose "always" but maybe I should explain a bit?

I don't wear a mask at home.

I wear a mask whenever I go inside any building - store, doctor's office. If friends/family want to visit with no mask they need to test negative (not 100% but low enough risk for me). If they don't test then we both wear masks.

Even outside, if I'm in any sort of a crowd, or even a small group (untested) that's sitting and talking for a long time, then I wear a mask.

@Testoceratops i've been working on asking people to mask in my place. so far it's been okay. it might help if you have a mask you can offer (esp because people are not good with getting a decent one)

good luck!

@Testoceratops mostly, I've explained things without a sugarcoat and using simple yet shocking realities

in my case, it's stuff like
・I'm already mostly bedridden. One more illness will probably make it so I have to go to the bathroom in my bed and unable to feed myself.
・Pettng cats even a little right now is tiring. One more illness will mean I probably won't be able to pet them at all.

basically, not rude, but shocking enough if the other person doesn't have experience with chronic illness that it might just startle them out of their naive understanding of the consequences of their actions

it doesn't always work, but you can tell who actually cares about you

#Disability

@Testoceratops i chose "yes, always" because i wear an n95 whenever i'm in public. for me that means whenever i'm
- indoors with people who aren't one of my two partners
- indoors by myself, but in a space that doesn't have good ventilation/where people have recently been, or
- outside around multiple other people.

the only exceptions i have to this are
- i have a sort of "bubble" of 6 or so friends who also wear masks in public (although maybe not quite as much as i do) and who i hang out with fairly regularly. we're comfortable not wearing masks around each other - a lot of these are also people who i kiss/am otherwise intimate with, so if i'm already doing that it doesn't feel like much of an additional risk
- there's the occasional unmasked gathering of a friend group, of which most people mask in public but not all of them; we all do rapid tests in advance to reduce risk for that situation
- sometimes i will eat outside with multiple other people and take off my mask for that. i very rarely eat at restaurants/cafeterias indoors (yay for portland food carts) but sometimes it does happen, and when it does i pull down my mask briefly and put it back between bites of food

overall i feel like i do a pretty good job reducing my risk of being infected (and the risk i expose others to). of course there are still things i could do to reduce my risk level further but i think that would have marginal gains and overall not be worth it for me personally

@DavidNielsen Thanks for sharing honestly. Glad you're masking when going to see the doctor. Nobody wore a mask last time I went to one, which is really concerning because the waiting room is really small

@Testoceratops i know that i should, that covid is still fuckin about out there, but like. masks are sensory hell and i live in a very white very privilaged area and so i’m afraid of being judged if i wear one

@Testoceratops but!!!!!!! absolutely if a friend had a health issue that put them in danger if the people around them weren’t masked, i would mask!! i don’t get why anyone wouldn’t

@silvermoon82 Oh then that must be why

@Testoceratops Yeah I wish I saw people masking more often. Reducing the spread of respiratory diseases helps a lot of people

@RadiantEmber I really wish so. Yup it really does, it can save lives and I think it seems to be abstract to some, like, maybe they feel immune idk

@Testoceratops

Where I live, I see maybe 5% of the population masking in offices/libraries/stores/etc. The % goes up a bit after news about high levels of flu/covid/etc.

In my workplace, I'm the only regular masker; the other staff wear a mask if someone in their household is sick, to avoid passing the virus around.

@Kathmandu I'm sorry so few people are masking there. Thanks for sharing. Same here honestly, I don't even know if we reach 5%.

Nobody wore one at the pharmacy nor at the doc, which is alarming to me

@Testoceratops been wearing some kind mask consistently since 2020, been wearing kn95s whenever i leave the house since 2024

@40796c19 Great! Thanks a lot for wearing it and answering

I like wearing masks, but they really irritate my sinuses. Can't go more than an hour or two without terrible pain and sneezing and... well it sucks. So I'll wear one if anyone around me is, or if anyone asks, but probably excuse myself to take it off alone before too long.

Honestly masks aren't all that effective at stopping the spread of disease. But they are somewhat effective, and something's better than nothing! So sorry if I'm not wearing one and you want me to.

@cy No worries, I was genuinely asking. Didn't intend to make anyone feel guilty, especially people who can't mask, or not as much as they'd like. Thanks a lot for your answer! You're doing what you can, and that's good

Thanks, and don't be afraid to ask! If anyone gets offended, they deserve to be disrespected. The rest of us will be like "Absolutely! (pulls out mask that was in the front pocket right here)"

@cy Thanks, Cy! I will ask from now on. Your support means a lot and helps me understand that asking is fine.

I usually apply it to everyone but me, so this reminder was needed. Really grateful for it. I'm sorry to answer after so long

@OctaviaConAmore @Testoceratops so much this. If they are a true friend, they would mask without hesitation. If they don’t, they are someone you are better off letting go of.

@Emmeline @OctaviaConAmore I agree, thanks Emmeline. Sorry I didn't answer earlier

@Testoceratops I always mask if I share air in an enclosed space with people who don't have a recent negative test for COVID. If I do it outdoors depends on the circumstances, e.g. how many people there are and how close they are

Those people I meet with after a negative test generally don't have a high risk of being infected with anything (masking, not seeing that many people, etc), otherwise I would even think about testing for other infectious diseases

@Larymir Thanks for sharing! I appreciate your awareness and actions to keep you and the others safe

@Paradox Thanks for your answer! Glad to read that you wear it in public, thank you for that

@Testoceratops skewed sample

@chava Yeah, definitely not what I see IRL. Glad to have an online masking community, though.

I was interested in knowing in which conditions people would mask, and how I could ask someone to mask. This has been helpful and reassuring for me

@lukyan I understand, thank you very much for your honesty. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.

Glad you'd take precautions if asked to, it's really reassuring to read this. I'm so sorry for answering after so long

@b You're doing a very good job imho. Thank you for it and for detailing I was interested in getting answers like yours to see where folks mask, if they do.

I wish more people would do the same, or even half of what you're doing.

I apologize for answering so late, didn't have spoons but really wanted to get back to you.

Take care!

@Testoceratops
I wear a mask in certain settings, generally when indoors in places with a lot of people. Church, grocery store, waiting rooms, etc.

I work two jobs. One of them is semi-outdoors, in an open ticket booth with just me alone in the booth, and the people I'm checking in just holding up phones to be scanned. So I don't always wear a mask there, although I always carry one in my pocket, just in case it's busy and a second person gets stationed in the booth.

At my second job, I work in a classroom monitoring people taking written tests. I always wear a mask at that job, because we are in an enclosed room for hours with all those examinees. We proctors built ourselves a home-made Corsi-Rosenthal box at that job site, to try to improve the classroom's air filtration.

In the summer, I attend a weekly outdoor free concert at the beach. Since it is in the open air, I choose a place on the outskirts of the crowd to place my chair, and omit the mask, although again I have one in my pocket, in case the crowd surrounds me. Same when I attend an outdoor protest: select a spot in a less crowded area, with mask in pocket in case the crowd gets too tight. Generally I'm more likely to leave the mask in my pocket when outdoors.

So I guess I'd say I wear a mask "often", but not "always".

@CommonSparrow Thank you for sharing with so much context. It helps understanding better. You're masking a lot, and that's really great especially if you're a teacher!

Wishing you well, with my apologies for taking so long to reply

@Testoceratops I mask to protect myself and others in case I were to have undetected Covid, so of course I would mask to protect you. Our one daughter’s family and our son’s family don’t mask or vaccinate. I see much less of them. Outdoors is preferred.

@Beachbum Thank you, it's really reassuring to read you'd take it into account. It gives me hope.

I'm sorry they don't mask and don't get vaccinated either, I totally understand why you see them less. It saddens me for you. Have my support if you want some.

Thanks for your awareness and sorry for answering only now!

@Testoceratops Honestly, if you just advised them that you are immuno compromised, they may offer to wear a mask. I mask everywhere in public and thank goodness masking myself has kept me well.

@Beachbum I'm really glad you're well. May it keep going that way.

Thank you for giving me confidence in asking to have my needs and boundaries respected.

Take care

@Testoceratops Seeing your reply gives me some more inspiration to do things to change my situation.

It's ok and cool to reply at any time, and I still had the thread bookmarked for reading the other replies later.

@lukyan I'm glad you've been interested in the answers too, and congrats for any change you make. Thanks for your kindness!

@rey Thank you for answering with so much details, it's been interesting for me.

I'm glad you never caught it, and hope you never will!

Sorry for reaching out so late again. Hope you're safe 💜

@rey @Testoceratops I mask everywhere from mid-August to about mid-April. After that, it becomes more about judging the variables. What is the ventilation? How long will I be there? How many people will be there? Who are the people (friends vs strangers)? What do the wastewater numbers show? Are there outdoor options? My entire family has practiced this, and in 6 years there has been one cold and one case of the flu and zero known cases of COVID. We feel our system has worked out pretty well. I would say as long as you are "doing the math" and paying attention to local trends of illness, the numbers will stay in your favor. 😊

@athena_rising Oh, interesting. I haven't seen anyone else say they mask seasonally, but I think I understand the logic behind it.

In summer, it's harder for sure.

Thanks for your answer and for wearing it when you do.

@ahimsa_pdx Thanks for taking time to explain your vote and for being cautious. I hope everything works out well for you!

@Testoceratops

https://zeroes.ca/@kimcrawley/116089556707079758

https://covidsafedate.com/the-covid-safe-date-pledge/

@kimcrawley Thanks for the links and for sharing! Read your post only today, I'm really sorry about that

@raphaelmorgan Thanks Morgan for your answer! Don't worry I totally understand having to eat or drink, I sometimes do too even if I avoid it and don't do it indoors.

Thank you for masking on public transport, you're great.

Hope you're ok

@raphaelmorgan Thank you, it's kind of you to say so. I'm always afraid to offend or do things wrong so I overthink everything and avoid conflict. I haven't reached out to him yet, but will at some point! Your insight helps a lot

@Testoceratops you're welcome <3

it's always good to hear from you 💜 ... things are going okay, will have to update you on stuff in a bit :3

@OctaviaConAmore Thank you from the bottom of my heart. When I posted, I got overwhelmed by the huge engagement it got and haven't been able to answer.

I want to apologize for that, and I want you to know I deeply appreciate the time taken to write this little guide. It's perfectly explained, and your support it appreciated too.

I hope people around you are careful. I wish you all the best, much love to your cat!

@Testoceratops @ielenia the proportion of wearing to not wearing in meatspace that I've observed in Portland is the opposite of the poll results so far, unfortunately

@OctaviaConAmore @ielenia Thanks for letting me know how it is there, even if I wish you told me the opposite.

Same here (North East of France), if two people are masking when I'm out it's already uncommon... None wore one at the doc last time either, nor at the pharmacy yesterday.

@Testoceratops @ielenia I wish I could say our medical system was much better, but they often don't wear masks, though they do often ask me if I want them to when they see me wearing mine

it's really sad to hear the lack of empathy being turned into action isn't just a USian problem

@OctaviaConAmore @ielenia Oh, I've never been asked if I wanted them to mask. It's good that they ask. Would be better if they masked, as healthworkers...

Yeah in France medical neglect isn't rare at all. Medical system is saturated, it's very difficult to find a doc, and way harder to find one who actually cares... I guess it's the case in other European countries too.

Terribly sorry you don't have better healthcare. I hope you'll be safe