# Are you wearing a mask if you go out in public? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 23, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448 "2020-04-23T16:39:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/61 "2020-04-24T02:38:39Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > … > > I wish people would stop wearing bandannas bandit-style. Sure, if you sneeze or cough, some of it will probably end up in the fabric, but not all of it. It’s so swift and simple to make a bandanna mask that fits better and offers better protection to others that I can’t understand why anyone still wears them bandit-style. Maybe it was swift and simple for you. I made one for my husband that works, but they don’t work on me because my ears just–well, they just don’t work. If it’s tight enough to stay on it works its way off. If it’s loose, it stays on, but it’s so loose it fogs up my specs. Bandit-style works for me and I’m sure provides about the same protection as a bandana mask. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/62 "2020-04-24T04:27:37Z")
Just after Chinese New Year’s when I returned to Taiwan, 99% of people were wearing masks. As Taiwan has managed to be hit not as badly, then it’s gradually relaxing. In supermarkets maybe 20% to 30% don’t wear them now. We are required to wear masks while teaching. More and more of the students are not anymore. If the cases were to suddenly get worse again, then I suspect things would go back to everyone being more carefu. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/63 "2020-04-24T05:24:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I was out grocery shopping today and I saw not one but two people who were wearing masks… covering their chins and lower lips. I’m sure those folks thought they were accomplishing something by that. I have no idea what they thought it was. I was in a Walgreen’s drugstore this morning and I saw three young women, who by their behavior were obviously friends and not living together (they left separately, for example), standing together and chatting while waiting in line, two of them with their masks on their chins. One was sipping a drink through a straw; the other one was just talking. All the stores open today in California have signs that say you have to have a mask on to enter, but of course no-one is policing that the mask is being kept in the right position. I kept well back, as they went to the checker one at a time and pulled up their masks when they did so. Was it to protect the checker, or was it to avoid being caught transgressing? Obviously they know the proper way to wear them, they just don’t see it as necessary all the time. Any progress in the world is made in spite of people like that rather than because of them. I am encouraged to read this evening that apparently 80% of the US population supports shelter-in-place and wearing masks. I hope a higher percentage than that are actually following those guidelines with some rigor. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/64 "2020-04-24T05:39:43Z")
I now have a surgical mask that I got at the doctors’ the other week, and I wore that on my last shop and intend to do what others in the thread are doing - leave it in the car in between weekly shops, for any possible virus to die. I had to take it off as I was actually going through the checkout though, because the cumulative effect of breathing back my own CO2 was starting to tell on me, and I didn’t want to end up fainting in the shops. I don’t know if anyone else has had a similar problem, or has useful advice for me. I was about 95% done at that point, so “shop quicker” may end up being the solution ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/65 "2020-04-24T06:35:32Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I’m honestly having trouble visualizing what you’re suggesting I do with a paper towel, washcloth, or rectangle cut out of a pillowcase. How do you get it to stick to your face? If you have rubber bands and a coffee filter, [here’s](https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/04/health/how-to-make-your-own-mask-wellness-trnd/index.html) some instructions to make a mask without sewing. I’m not sure I get the tuck in the middle part. I’m thinking there would need to be a way to hold the two pieces together. Maybe staples? Glue (although you’d be breathing glue)? Duct tape! (or any other kind of tape) I bet you have duct tape. But you’ve have to position it slightly off center so it didn’t impede breathing. If you don’t have rubber bands, you might be able to use the t-shirt material cut into strips, let them curl as they’re inclined to do, then tape the ends into a circle. If you don’t have a coffee filter, then maybe a dust mask for woodworking? If all that doesn’t work, maybe tape a wash cloth to your face? I’m sure there’s a way to rig something to tie around your neck, but I can’t think of how it would work. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/66 "2020-04-24T06:48:23Z")
I do not step out the door without a mask on, and if I am working at the food pantry I wear gloves also. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/67 "2020-04-24T06:49:35Z")
I made a couple of masks out of an old fitted sheet. I don’t have a sewing machine, but I have basic hand sewing skills and materials. Should do a few more so we can rotate them through the wash. We wear them anytime we leave our property (to take walks, etc. - haven’t set foot in a grocery store in a month, or anywhere else indoors other than my own house). I’d say maybe 1/3 of the people around here are wearing masks on the street. I wish it were more, even outdoors - we have to step onto the parkway when other people approach, because we can’t keep 6’ apart otherwise. Hardly anyone else does it before we do. My mom is getting really pissed off at the younger people who pass her from behind on the sidewalk with no masks; she’s 77 and immunosuppressed, and freaking terrified. It’s making her stay indoors completely more than she should have to, and she lives alone. To those of you who don’t wear masks in public, please think of people like her, and the possibility that you are infected and asymptomatic. You may not be worried about getting sick yourself, but we should all wear masks for people like her. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/68 "2020-04-24T06:53:31Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Maybe it was swift and simple for you. I made one for my husband that works, but they don’t work on me because my ears just–well, they just don’t work. If it’s tight enough to stay on it works its way off. If it’s loose, it stays on, but it’s so loose it fogs up my specs. Bandit-style works for me and I’m sure provides about the same protection as a bandana mask. I’d say I’m all thumbs, but that would be an insult to thumbs. I have zero fine motor skills. I flunked sewing class–twice. I have surgical-type masks my apartment complex gave out. They hit me mid-eye. I have to pull them lower so I can see. This makes them pop off my ears every few minutes. And there are gaps around my nose. I watched three youtube videos before I tried making one of my own. And I found…it really is easy, even for a doofus like me. Mind you, I don’t _like_ it: too many layers, so hard to breathe through. But I’m wearing it. The easy instructions showed how to make the mask so it conforms to area around the nose, and it doesn’t have a big gap under my chin, both of which mean I’m less likely to kill someone. That’s because when we sneeze or cough, not all the droplets go straight ahead. In order to protect others, masks should fit tightly to the face. Here’s [one expert](https://www.factcheck.org/2020/04/covid-19-face-mask-advice-explained/): > [@](#): > > Linsey Marr, a Virginia Tech engineering professor who studies virus transmission, cautioned that people should not rely on homemade masks to prevent inhalation of viruses in the air, but she had some practical tips for those pursuing their own designs. > > “The material should be thick and densely woven, like a kitchen towel or heavyweight t-shirt, and the mask should fit tightly around the nose and mouth with no gaps,” she told us in an email. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/69 "2020-04-24T09:44:36Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I’m honestly having trouble visualizing what you’re suggesting I do with a paper towel, washcloth, or rectangle cut out of a pillowcase. How do you get it to stick to your face? You must not have watched the video linked here: > [@bobot](#): > > You can use any fabric, cut up a t-shirt. Anything that keeps your spit out of others’ faces is at least a sign that you respect their health. Here’s a foldy one with ear straps that requires no sewing or anything: > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAj12GKuAEk&feature=youtu.be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAj12GKuAEk&feature=youtu.be) > (If you’re not a longhair like me, you may need to look for the ponytailers. If you need a few (used) PM me. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/70 "2020-04-24T10:36:19Z")
Yeah. And I still get funny looks from the Stupid. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/71 "2020-04-24T14:36:17Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I’m honestly having trouble visualizing what you’re suggesting I do with a paper towel, washcloth, or rectangle cut out of a pillowcase. How do you get it to stick to your face? Why are you pretending not to understand what multiple people have told you??? There are tons of illustrations and videos online. What’s your game? Holy crap. :dubious: > [@Aspenglow](#): > > I doubt baklava would help, but if it does, I’m onboard. 😉 (You meant balaclava, right?)… Baklava! Yes! That’s the answer and the cure! I want some now. I will consume it until I’m sure I’m immune or until I’m so blissed out on sugar that I don’t care anymore. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/72 "2020-04-24T16:06:11Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > You must not have watched the video linked here: I’m still not sure what those black things are or where I would get them. And I admit, I didn’t see the very end, where the person had them stuck over her ears. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Why are you pretending not to understand what multiple people have told you??? There are tons of illustrations and videos online. What’s your game? Holy crap. :dubious: I’m not pretending, honest. I really am this dumb. (i.e. I, like most people, have odd gaps in my knowledge, understanding, and experience, of things that seem obvious to most people, _once you know about them_). That was an honest question. I’m really trying not to be That Guy, who asks for suggestions only to explain why they all won’t work. And I thank everyone who offered suggestions. I had done some looking around online, but I’ve had a hard time sifting out the genuine good ideas from the things that either I wouldn’t be able to get to work for me, or that wouldn’t be worth doing. For example, I cut up an old t-shirt, tied a piece of it around my face, and then thought, “This looks stupid, I’m not sure it will stay on, and I’m doubtful that my wearing it would convey any advantage to myself or anyone else around me.” So I gave up on the idea. (At the time, masks were not mandatory, so the only reason to wear one was if it genuinely provided some benefit over not wearing one.) ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/73 "2020-04-24T16:21:23Z")
[Here you go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TasM4uRj74) (video). No tools, no sewing, new cutting required. Just a bandanna and two rubber bands. Time commitment - under 60 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/74 "2020-04-24T16:37:46Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > [Here you go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TasM4uRj74) (video). No tools, no sewing, new cutting required. Just a bandanna and two rubber bands. Time commitment - under 60 seconds. Thank you, that looks do-able. As I mentioned before, I don’t have any bandannas, but I think I can find (or make) something that would work. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/75 "2020-04-24T16:51:28Z")
I went out shopping yesterday for the first time in 5 weeks and wore a mask and plastic gloves. Unfortunately, many people don’t seem to care about social distancing… About half wore masks. Every time I heard a cough or sneeze I got nervous inside. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/76 "2020-04-24T17:00:34Z")
I don’t wear a mask walking in the woods, but then I’ve never seen another person in the woods besides my gf. I don’t wear one in the car, but I put one on before getting out of the car. Yesterday I went to the dispensary, which had a nice flower drop. At two in the afternoon there was a long line at the door. They had marks on the sidewalk every 8 feet or so to remind people about distancing. Everyone in line had a mask on, with some crazy looking masks and crazy mask/hoodie/sunglasses combination. It looked dystopian. I would have taken a picture, but that’s rude. ---
**Author:** ![Kovitlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kovitlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kovitlac)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/77 "2020-04-24T17:04:03Z")
I do not yet, no. My state hasn’t mandated it. But my mom does have a spare one for me, which I’ll be getting probably tomorrow. I’ll probably wear that out for grocery trips. Not for my walks, though - I stick to myself for those, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/78 "2020-04-24T17:06:45Z")
I’ve not only not stepped outside my home without a mask, but I’ve worn a mask inside due to my mom being at risk and me feeling ill. (Doctor doesn’t suspect COVID-19, but I learned when worrying about that that I’ve been supposed to do that with any respiratory infection due to mom’s lung disease. She catches them more easily, and it compromises her oxygen levels when she gets sick. And COVID-19 is making it harder for her to get the treatment she needs that would clear her lungs.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/79 "2020-04-24T17:18:46Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I’ve not only not stepped outside my home without a mask, but I’ve worn a mask inside due to my mom being at risk and me feeling ill. Wow, dude. I feel for you. My face hurts after wearing a mask for the 3 or so hours I’m at work each day. Wearing one at home would be awful. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/80 "2020-04-24T17:20:47Z")
We’re required to only if we can’t maintain social distancing outdoors, or if we’re going indoors into a shared space. When I go out for long walks I carry one with me but don’t have it on full-time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448.md?page=5)