Two week quarantines in CA, OR, WA - no recreation travel

[ski3pin]

And, if by chance, you are even considering travel it is wise to check on how the folks are doing in the area you may be visiting such as the east side of the Sierra Nevada -

Covid-19 Cases Rocketing

And Region 5 USFS has extended campground closures -

USFS Extends Developed Campground Closure

Be smart, be safe.

 

[eyemgh]

A mask must be worn properly to be really effective. Unfortunately, few masks of the type commonly in public hands do much. If one has ever done surgery, then he or she knows it is difficult to wear a mask so it seals the top against leaks that fog glasses. As and example, a surgeon's mask will likely be taped down or sealed in one of several ways so they can see to do their surgery. Ordinary lay people will not do this, even if they know how.

This is serious business. Talk to a doc who runs an emergency room and they will report there are so many COVID-19 related deaths that they become numb to the human tole. So, what is the answer?

Should one leave it to the a Governor's mandates, which in some cases are wrong, and in other cases helpful? Anyway, this is not enough. It is important to take responsibility for one's own safety. Know this is complicated and varies depending on the actual risk which varies widely from zero to deadly depending on the environment. Study ways to protect yourself and do it! Try to avoid infecting others. By the time this is sorted out, many thousands will be dead from the COVID-19 virus. Be one that survives.

John D

The tape doesn't stop fogging because it seals a procedure/surgeons mask. The taped edge forces the vapor to vent out the sides. Tape all 4 sides and it will fog again if the conditions are right. A fully sealed N95 can still fog glasses as the vapor particles are small enough to penetrate. Trust me, I've been in the OR and I wear a N95 8 hours a day in clinic. I know how to properly don and doff a mask, have access to many designs and can choose the ones that seal on me best.

The bigger purpose of the mask though is not to protect one's self (unless you work in an environment like mine where you have to be very close to someone). The purpose as you've alluded to is to protect others. Even an incompletely sealed double layer cloth mask will greatly reduce the distance expelled virus travels. That's important because that is a modifiable factor that will knowingly reduce the R0 of the virus.

If you do go out, especially through rural communities, expect to encounter plenty of unmasked folks. I only gas at self serve (with a n95 on) and bring enough food that I don't have to go indoors anywhere.

 

[AWG_Pics]

My lovely wife coined a term for those of us doing careful social distancing and not traveling too much: the autodidact year. So in that vein I am trying to teach myself some botany -- kind of fun and really a broad, deep subject. For an old geophysicist like me, it is all entirely new. I could do this for quite a while before getting too restless.

 

[camper rich]

As much as I want to go camping, I'm staying home this winter. I'm 74 going on 75 and hope to live to be 76. If I can get vacinated in the near future, my plans will probably change, but without the vacination I don't want to risk getting sick in some little town that has no health care and people who won't wear masks. I just heard that almost 60% of infections are asymptomatic, and here, in Utah, the positivity rate is 33%. I can turn on my heater and sleep in my camper in my back yard if I want.

 

[larryqp]

I hear everyone's concern and have been taking as many precautions as possible. But even though NM has a mask mandate many business's don't enforce and many people still don't wear masks. I've gone camping and hiking locally in the Lincoln National Forest and feel much safer in the boonies. I'm planning a 3 week trip to Big Bend and will bring 4 weeks worth of food, only fuel at self serve gas stations, and not have any contact with people. When hiking and approaching people I step off the trail at least 6 ft. When I need water I'll wipe down the hydrant and handle before attaching my hose. It's only 350 miles from my winter home base, so a one day drive.

I'm a little concerned about the slim possibility of contracting the virus on the road, but I feel my risk of exposure locally is greater due to the number on non-mask wearing working people such as the oil workers who are driving 4 in a truck without masks and going into stores. I'm bring a thermometer and it I have the slightest suspicion that I may be sick, I'll head home. I also plan to self quarantine before I leave to minimize contracting the virus before I leave. Basically, I feel safer in there backcountry. As far as getting into an accident, again I feel safer away from all the big trucks running around the NM Permian Basin.

I'm 66 and hopefully, when I return in early February, it will be my turn to get the vaccine.

 

[craig333]

Now in CA we're supposed to limit travel to a 120 mile radius. I'm just glad that winter isn't my favorite time of year.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Story in today's paper,NF campgrounds still closed through the 29th of Jan.
After that we'll see what the next step is.
Frank

 

[eyemgh]

I hear everyone's concern and have been taking as many precautions as possible. But even though NM has a mask mandate many business's don't enforce and many people still don't wear masks. I've gone camping and hiking locally in the Lincoln National Forest and feel much safer in the boonies. I'm planning a 3 week trip to Big Bend and will bring 4 weeks worth of food, only fuel at self serve gas stations, and not have any contact with people. When hiking and approaching people I step off the trail at least 6 ft. When I need water I'll wipe down the hydrant and handle before attaching my hose. It's only 350 miles from my winter home base, so a one day drive.

I'm a little concerned about the slim possibility of contracting the virus on the road, but I feel my risk of exposure locally is greater due to the number on non-mask wearing working people such as the oil workers who are driving 4 in a truck without masks and going into stores. I'm bring a thermometer and it I have the slightest suspicion that I may be sick, I'll head home. I also plan to self quarantine before I leave to minimize contracting the virus before I leave. Basically, I feel safer in there backcountry. As far as getting into an accident, again I feel safer away from all the big trucks running around the NM Permian Basin.

I'm 66 and hopefully, when I return in early February, it will be my turn to get the vaccine.

The most sensitive daily check you can probably do is to stick your nose in your coffee beans every day or smell an orange. Anosmia (loss of smell) and hyposmia (reduced smell) are nearly ubiquitous and last much longer that the fever, IF you get a fever at all.

Good luck and have fun!

Getting vaccinated next Thursday.

 

[Taku]

Remember that most of the vaccines require two shots, a few weeks apart and for a body to reach a few weeks after to reach immunity. You all may be aware of this, but I have been surprised by how many folks I work with do not know this basic information.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

The tape doesn't stop fogging because it seals a procedure/surgeons mask. The taped edge forces the vapor to vent out the sides. Tape all 4 sides and it will fog again if the conditions are right. A fully sealed N95 can still fog glasses as the vapor particles are small enough to penetrate. Trust me, I've been in the OR and I wear a N95 8 hours a day in clinic. I know how to properly don and doff a mask, have access to many designs and can choose the ones that seal on me best.

The bigger purpose of the mask though is not to protect one's self (unless you work in an environment like mine where you have to be very close to someone). The purpose as you've alluded to is to protect others. Even an incompletely sealed double layer cloth mask will greatly reduce the distance expelled virus travels. That's important because that is a modifiable factor that will knowingly reduce the R0 of the virus.

If you do go out, especially through rural communities, expect to encounter plenty of unmasked folks. I only gas at self serve (with a n95 on) and bring enough food that I don't have to go indoors anywhere.

Thank you for explaining mask use.There needs to be more of this info out to the public.
Frank