Coronavirus changes

This topic hasn't been discussed much on this site, but this might be of interest:

In more urban environments, people are still walking more--and the city of Oakland is closing 10% of its streets to traffic to allow more pedestrians...


https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/10/c...f-city-streets/

Going hand-in-hand with that, air quality readings have been improving noticeably.

The in-town trails are getting crowded. We need the pandemic to end so I can have the trails to myself again! Unfortunately few on the trail practice social distancing. On one trail, which is a former dirt road so nice and wide, I found myself walking in the weeds to keep myself apart while most walk right down the middle of the trail. Future hikes will be in the national forest that is a little ways from town so less used.

My boys and I have been taking advantage of our city trails as well. Even though most people try to keep a respectable distance, the trails are narrow enough that 6 feet of separation isn't always practical.

Do you wear “masks” of some sort? That’s what they’re saying to do in our local city trails and parks. Luckily, my wife sews, and made us some.

Even with a mask, I’ve stopped using the local trails for now. With so many people staying home, the trails are just so crowded that I’m not willing to risk it. I’ve substituted meandering through the largely empty neighborhoods- empty because everybody drove over to walk on the trails!

Ironically, the streets and parking lots around office buildings are among the least crowded open spaces these days.

We do not wear masks, but "crowded" here is seeing maybe 4 other families or couples in the space of a 1-2 hour walk and having to pass directly by 1 or 2 of those groups (holding my breath). So even though the trail can be narrow in places, it's a measured (I feel reasonable) risk. The exposure there is far less than in a grocery store.

Here in the Dayton/Cincinnati metro area, you encounter completely full parking lots; before the shutdown, I hiked a mile of popular trails to get to a more secluded trail, and there were people every 6 to 12 feet, with a few extra feet between groups or families. They’ve closed some trailhead parking lots, and roped off large sections in other lots, to try to reduce crowds. I haven’t hiked in to see if it’s working.

Remember, masks don't keep you from getting the virus from others, they're to assist you from giving the virus to others.

There are some places in Washington where the trailheads are closed, but the trails themselves are open.

Where we live in central NYS there are numerous state forests and parks that continue to give us plenty of places to hike without bumping into others. Even in the more frequently used locations, it's not a big deal. We went yesterday to a state park that's only 5 miles from our house and about that in the other direction from the largest community by population in the county (12,000 people) and we still only encountered 4 people; two in the parking lot when we arrived and a couple on the trails. This is about the norm for our parks right now. If I hit the state forest trails, then it's just me and the dog. No one is out there and you can tell it's been that way for a long time as many of these trails are growing over. If I hadn't been out on them over the last 40 years some of them would be gone by now.

That's all for now. Take care, stay safe and until next time...be well.

snapper

PS - I hope this post doesn't sound like I'm bragging. Believe me, I truly understand just how lucky I have it where I live.

I personally choose not to wear a mask, however I think this is misinformation purposefully spread by the CDC in an attempt to direct the limited supply of masks to where they are most needed and most effective. I can appreciate the reasoning, but it's dishonest. Just using common sense, it can't be true, unless the materials the masks are made with are somehow a one way valve.

What? Common sense tells you exactly why it is true. When you breath through a mask it diffuses your breath preventing it from effectively traveling the 6 foot social distancing. With a mask your exhaled breath stays in a cloud around you. Without a mask you shoot your breath out into the world. On inhaling, diffusing it really doesn't matter... it all goes down your throat regardless

That is the theory and there is some evidence that it is true, but the effectivity has not been proven. Common sense: yes.... proven science: no.

Agree with BZH, it makes sense to me that wearing a mask can help limit the exposure risk I present to others. I'm happy to wear a mask -- such a very, very minor inconvenience -- to perhaps help protect others.

Maybe I've misunderstood the way the masks are supposed to work. I'm willing to admit I'm wrong...

BUT, I thought the theory behind the mask was not diffusion, but filtration. Perhaps we should be specific about the type of mask. I'm thinking about the N95 masks. Isn't the "95" an indicator of the percentage of airborne particles effectively filterd?

I think of it this way--If I sneeze or cough wearing a mask of any kind, the distance droplets travel will be reduced greatly and the number that escape to the environment will likewise be fewer in total (presuming the mask stays put). And same goes for anybody near me who sneezes. Or walked where I'm walking minutes later (far more important indoors than out).

Droplets should be stopped/slowed even with a larger pore size. IDK whether the viruses can also cling to dust and other particulates. Nothing I've read suggests they float around in the air column by their tiny viral selves but OTOH an infected person can transmit lacking symptoms, e.g., coughing and sneezing, so just breathing close? All this detail is still unfolding, and not in any particular sequence.

If only I had some masks.

The N95 masks do protect the wearer. It filters incoming air. I am not sure if they are equiped with a check valve to only filter in one direction. N95 masks are only for health care workers who have the necessary training and have significant exposure. The CDC guidelines for the general population is to wear non-medical face coverings. Those are not rated to any filtration standards... they are just plain cloth.

My county just made wearing a mask mandatory in public. Choose not to and it's a fine, I think $600.

"Valve" was perhaps a poor choice of words on my part. What I really meant was a "one way filter", something I'm almost positive they do not do. Whatever gets through, gets through equally in both directions, be it air or airborne particles (dust, water droplets, etc).

Here's a good article today in The Atlantic about why masks are important.

The Real Reason to Wear a Mask

Long time ago [cue banjo music] I had a job where we intermittently wore particle masks in areas with asbestos. No idea what the filtration rating was, the filter portion was replaced after one shift of use and the housing was cleaned and reused. They worked reasonably well WRT fit and comfort.

Anyhoo, it had a one-way valve that opened on exhale and closed on inhale, because the issue was not us exhaling asbestos at others. Contagious disease is potentially two-way so such a valve wouldn't be appropriate.

That's a good article. Thanks.