D&D and the rising pandemic

[GreyLord]

I wear N95s. Fitted correctly they are supposed to stop 95% of all particles...and because of that actually DO provide protection.

I also have another which is far more drastic (normally made for chemicals) which is N100 rated. It stops ALL particles...but I look like Bane if I wear it. So...I don't wear that one normally.

 

[GreyLord]

You might enjoy the microcovid risk calculator.

https://www.microcovid.org/

This is really cool.

Unfortunately, entering in information just on going to the Grocery Store indicates that it is a Dangerously High Risk normally.

If I manage to go when it first opens in the morning during a weekday (other than Friday) or really late, like 15 minutes before it closes it shows I have a mere High Risk chance.

I think I'm screwed. Should I mention that it seems I'm one of the few that actually take it seriously where I live?

PS: That is calculated with me wearing a KN95 or N95 mask. I already know those around me won't be wearing masks normally, and I think a majority are not vaccinated either...sooooooo....

Even the grocery store seems dangerous.

 

[Mannahnin]

This is really cool.

Unfortunately, entering in information just on going to the Grocery Store indicates that it is a Dangerously High Risk normally.

If I manage to go when it first opens in the morning during a weekday (other than Friday) or really late, like 15 minutes before it closes it shows I have a mere High Risk chance.

I think I'm screwed. Should I mention that it seems I'm one of the few that actually take it seriously where I live?

PS: That is calculated with me wearing a KN95 or N95 mask. I already know those around me won't be wearing masks normally, and I think a majority are not vaccinated either...sooooooo....

Even the grocery store seems dangerous.

Wow. How long do you go for? What's the average risk in microcovids for your area?

The preset grocery run scenarios assume a 60 minute trip, but I usually am in and out much more quickly than that. If I build a custom scenario, for a 15 minute errand with an average of 3 people within 5 meters of me at any given time, these people on average being 6+ feet away from me, of average risk for my area (16,000 microcovids themselves), them having unknown vax status and me wearing a surgical mask (I wear one of those or a high-end woven plastic one that fits snugly), assuming they're unmasked and any who are speaking are doing so at normal volume, I get Moderate risk: 35% of my weekly Standard budget (target 1% risk of Covid per year).

That scenario is probably a little bit optimistic on time and maybe on distancing for a longer trip, but I know that we have a decent percent vaccinated (especially in the city), very few people are actually talking, and some other folks are wearing masks, so those factors help in a positive direction. I could improve it further with an N95, of course, and perhaps I should at least until more folks have their boosters.

 

[Mannahnin]

Tomorrow, we’ll be going to our 4th(?) mass. There haven’t been a masked majority at any sofa, so I’m glad Mom & Dad have been joining me in the narthex, basically away from everyone.

(Masked, of course.)

Definitely one of the things I've missed the most has been communal singing at religious services. It really sucks that indoor communal singing is one of the riskiest possible activities (as was demonstrated dramatically with one of the first big superspreader breakouts in South Korea early in the pandemic, despite their generally-excellent protocols).

 

[Ryujin]

I went on a major grocery run on Saturday. All supermarkets here have arrows on the floor in order to direct flow, and maintain maximum possible social distancing. I feel like maybe 3 of us, out of maybe a hundred in the store, were paying attention to them. More than once I had to turn around and go down a different lane, because two or three carts were fully blocking the lane after coming in the "wrong" way.

Of course I didn't completely maintain the "right" direction all the time either, however, I was doing things like going 10 feet into an empty aisle to get something near the end, or quickly cutting across 15 feet between stands in the produce aisle, with no one around.

 

[Mannahnin]

I went on a major grocery run on Saturday. All supermarkets here have arrows on the floor in order to direct flow, and maintain maximum possible social distancing. I feel like maybe 3 of us, out of maybe a hundred in the store, were paying attention to them. More than once I had to turn around and go down a different lane, because two or three carts were fully blocking the lane after coming in the "wrong" way.

Of course I didn't completely maintain the "right" direction all the time either, however, I was doing things like going 10 feet into an empty aisle to get something near the end, or quickly cutting across 15 feet between stands in the produce aisle, with no one around.

Grocery stores near me abandoned directional lane restrictions after the vaccines became widely available, sadly. Adherence wasn't great even before then; I suspect poor adherence was a factor in them giving up on the idea.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

This is really cool.

Unfortunately, entering in information just on going to the Grocery Store indicates that it is a Dangerously High Risk normally.

If I manage to go when it first opens in the morning during a weekday (other than Friday) or really late, like 15 minutes before it closes it shows I have a mere High Risk chance.

I think I'm screwed. Should I mention that it seems I'm one of the few that actually take it seriously where I live?

I feel you on this. AFAIK, I haven't had the COVID. I've gotten the two jabs and the booster.

But I'm starting to feel so worn down because of what I see around me. No one (NO ONE) is taking things seriously. Even in the supermarket, while the employees are masked, it's maybe 1/5 of shoppers are masked. At most?

No one where I'm at is masking. No one takes it seriously. It's this weird disconnect between what I see and hear and know is coming, and what I see when I look around me.

 

[GreyLord]

Wow. How long do you go for? What's the average risk in microcovids for your area?

The preset grocery run scenarios assume a 60 minute trip, but I usually am in and out much more quickly than that. If I build a custom scenario, for a 15 minute errand with an average of 3 people within 5 meters of me at any given time, these people on average being 6+ feet away from me, of average risk for my area (16,000 microcovids themselves), them having unknown vax status and me wearing a surgical mask (I wear one of those or a high-end woven plastic one that fits snugly), assuming they're unmasked and any who are speaking are doing so at normal volume, I get Moderate risk: 35% of my weekly Standard budget (target 1% risk of Covid per year).

That scenario is probably a little bit optimistic on time and maybe on distancing for a longer trip, but I know that we have a decent percent vaccinated (especially in the city), very few people are actually talking, and some other folks are wearing masks, so those factors help in a positive direction. I could improve it further with an N95, of course, and perhaps I should at least until more folks have their boosters.

My area isn't exactly the most pro-vaccination. I go to the grocery about once a week. It is actually about an hour. When I go, I'm an generally the only one who is masked up and even trying to social distance. Others will even get in your personal space on purpose if they see you wearing mask sometimes.

It's been very hard on me sometimes in my area. They are very anti-science (I suppose that's the best way one could put it without being political) and very hostile at times to those who follow medical advice or other scientific items.

 

[Ryujin]

Grocery stores near me abandoned directional lane restrictions after the vaccines became widely available, sadly. Adherence wasn't great even before then; I suspect poor adherence was a factor in them giving up on the idea.

Sadly, adherence to directional lanes just has never really been a thing here. In some stores it's likely because the directionality just wasn't really well thought out in the first place making its use clumsy, at best, but the aisles in the supermarket were well laid out for direction.

 

[J.Quondam]

My area isn't exactly the most pro-vaccination. I go to the grocery about once a week. It is actually about an hour. When I go, I'm an generally the only one who is masked up and even trying to social distance. Others will even get in your personal space on purpose if they see you wearing mask sometimes.

It's been very hard on me sometimes in my area. They are very anti-science (I suppose that's the best way one could put it without being political) and very hostile at times to those who follow medical advice or other scientific items.

I feel your pain. I live in such an area, too, where wearing a mask often draws sneers and condemnation. A few weeks ago, a nurse in a hospital lobby went out of her way to inform me that masks aren't required there, and the stink-eye I got when I said "okay" but kept it on was truly Sauronian.

It's so disheartening and so exhausting to witness so many people derive such joy from being giant throbbing dks toward fellow human beings. It really has taken a serious toll on my faith in humanity, and depresses me utterly.