Question: Coronavirus & home sewn masks?

ProudActivist said:
If it was freshly applied the fumes would be inhaled and kill the virus? It says in the article that it can kill the virus in 30 seconds in the air
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The article talks about aerosol iodine, which might kill virus if it lands on a surface. I cannot see how you can have health care workers and patients existing in an atmosphere constantly being sprayed with iodine aerosol.

To be honest this looks like a hobbyhorse article by a crackpot MD who has an obsession with iodine.
 
Jonathan Edwards said:
The article talks about aerosol iodine, which might kill virus if it lands on a surface. I cannot see how you can have health care workers and patients existing in an atmosphere constantly being sprayed with iodine aerosol.

To be honest this looks like a hobbyhorse article by a crackpot MD who has an obsession with iodine.
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fair enough. For my partner going into a shop it’s just brief and may be better than cotton fabric alone?
 
Had a rather disturbing conversation (at a distance in the garden) with my postwoman today;
she is thinking of packing it in because of the total lack of social distancing at her depot. There are a 100 people all working in close proximity (less than 5' apart) and narrow stairways; she has had verbal abuse from her male co-workers for wearing a mask and gloves and has tried to get their manager to do something. Her last resort is to contact the union. She has elderly parents that she is getting shopping for as well as herself. On her rounds she wears gloves and sanitises them every circuit and disinfects her van daily. Her main worry is that she might be inadvertantly spreading the virus and from what she says, her colleagues could also be doing so as they refuse to take any precautions.
 
That hadn't occurred to me.

I used to be a postman and I'd assume that the basic walk sorting stations are pretty much the same as they were then.

These stations may be about 5-6 feet wide but the very nature of them means that a lot of the time 2 people on stations next to each other would be considerable closer to each other than that.

There's no separation between sorting stations other than the thickness of a piece of wood.

The piece of wood is not 2 meters thick.

The separation between rows is also likely to be less than 5-6 foot, meaning that in that dimension people would be closer than current social distancing rules as well.

The reasons for this are simple, sorting takes a lot of space, as there are so many walks (a walk is an individual postman's route), so sorting stations are as compact, and close together, as possible.

Can't see, other than fully computerised sorting, this could be overcome.

The only realistic alternative that occurs is split sorting, with people on adjacent walks sorting at different times, with sanitization of racks between each.

Can't see the royal mail, or the unions, being happy about that.

ETA - as racks are basically just a large collection of pidgeon holes, quite deep pidgeon holes, full sanitization would be a laborious task.
 
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Sly Saint said:
Had a rather disturbing conversation (at a distance in the garden) with my postwoman today;
she is thinking of packing it in because of the total lack of social distancing at her depot. There are a 100 people all working in close proximity (less than 5' apart) and narrow stairways; she has had verbal abuse from her male co-workers for wearing a mask and gloves and has tried to get their manager to do something. Her last resort is to contact the union. She has elderly parents that she is getting shopping for as well as herself. On her rounds she wears gloves and sanitises them every circuit and disinfects her van daily. Her main worry is that she might be inadvertantly spreading the virus and from what she says, her colleagues could also be doing so as they refuse to take any precautions.
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Here in Montreal our postman is not wearing a mask. It's basically a residential area, so it's single family houses, and he often just opens doors and goes in, and leaves packages and mail in vestibules because he knows the folks. He's the loveliest chap you'd ever want to meet. Yesterday, I asked him for his own sake to wear a mask. To which he replied: I don't have one. I told him to wear a bandana at least (as Dr. Edwards does) and he agreed to do it. How irresponsible of Canada Post to allow its workers to take such risks.But here in Quebec they have really not told the population to wear masks, and have in fact encouraged them not too--because these were necessary for health care workers.
PS> Canada post now does allow postmen to leave pkgs in front of doors, but some of the postmen are practically our friends and thus help us all by putting pkgs inside our vestibules so they are not stolen or rained upon. I really need to haul out that sewing machine....
 
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Instructions for how to make a mask from a t-shirt. :mask:

No sewing required. Scissors are used to cut out a mask that ties behind your head.



This is one of the homemade mask options that looked like something I could actually do. And for me, tying it behind my head would help to remind me to take it off properly, from the ties, not touching other parts of the mask.

Of course, I'd still need to wash my hands before putting it on, and after taking it off, and remember not to touch the mask once it's on, not fiddle with it and contaminate it with my hands, etc. A lot to remember when you have brain fog.

With my brain fog I think I am one of those folks who might do more harm than good with a mask! Instead of the mask reminding me not to touch my face, it could cause irritation or itching that would make me touch my face - eg, I'd accidentally touch some contaminated surface, and then adjust the front of my mask, and infect myself that way.

My current plan is staying home and not going out at all - protects others in case I have it and also protects me. I have not tried any masks yet.

FYI, I got this video from an NPR article on masks which has more options:

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsa...-effective-and-whats-the-best-way-to-wear-one
 
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c|net and Motherboard cover home-made face masks and face coverings.

How to make a face mask or covering at home: Find patterns, cloth, premade masks
What's the difference between a face mask and a face covering? Can you buy premade face masks? How do you donate them? We answer these questions and more.
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-...ng-at-home-find-patterns-cloth-premade-masks/

We’re Running Out of Face Masks, But You Can Make One Yourself
Amateur crafters are sending improvised masks to the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. With a bit of practice, you can make one for yourself.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjd59q/how-to-sew-your-own-face-mask-diy-covid-19
 
I saw one that looked interesting but I do not have a link. Take an ordinary A4 plastic page protector and open the channel with the file holes with a little snip at each end so you can thread a plastic hairband through.

Slip hairband over head above ears. Even my ME challenged hands could manage that!
 
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