Given that I once saw predictions for Florida as high as 60,000 to even 100,000 deaths, I am glad that the virus is not NEARLY as deadly as once feared. The more asymptomatic/mildly symptomatic people that test positive, the lower the hospitalization/death rate gets and the quicker we achieve herd immunity.

We supposedly have numbers "skyrocketing" but hospitalizations and deaths are not scarily high which is actually fantastic news.

The chances of dying in a car accident or from a lightning strike are low, too, but that doesn't mean that it isn't tragic when it happens. Nor does it mean that we should ban cars or being outdoors to prevent those deaths from happening. There is always going to be some unlucky person who is killed by lightning or even hit by a car while sitting on the safety of their living room sofa.

Death is a part of life unfortunately. You don't stop living because you are afraid of dying.

You forgot the most vocal group, #6: Do exactly what I want you to do and how I want you to act regardless of which of the 5 categories I fall within. AKA the be like me or you’re wrong group.

Not trying to go off topic here as this relates to personal risk/safety assessment. On a lark, I did a quick google search and found the following article:

"Despite low odds, experts warn that being struck by lightning is not worth the risk" - I think we would all agree that we don't want to get hit by lightning. But we might disagree as to what lengths we're willing to go to to avoid being potentially struck by lightning.

~~~

:coolsmiley: What I find kind of funny is that full maskers, modified maskers, and anti maskers are actually taking more risks to get infected or spread the virus because they go grocery shopping, eat out etc. They are also the most vocal at criticizing other's behavior. It may or may not be a big risk to enter buildings other than home, mask or not, but it does give you a bigger chance to get unlucky. When I see this giant surge of new cases has a median age in the mid 30s I think "hmmmm...what age group are most grocery clerks and restaurant workers?"

Attachment 85042

Those workers are wearing masks (at least in the establishments that I go to). That is why I feel safe enough to dine indoors while socially distanced from other diners in an indoor restaurant. Servers are masked. Those masks are blocking the droplets that contain those microscopic virus particles. Those masks minimize those virus laden droplets from escaping into my air space. That safely net offers me a reasonable risk that I am willing to take.

Our economy needs to recover. I'm doing my part to help our economy recover and enjoy my life too. Win Win and hopefully there will be an effective vaccine soon so we can achieve herd immunity to stop this virus in its tracks.

There is one distinct difference between the vehement "everyone should wear a mask" crowd and the vehement "no one should be telling me to wear a mask" crowd.

When a masker enters a crowded building/venue they say: "It is your job to protect me and others from getting this virus". These are the type of people who would sue a store, see businesses shut down and demand strict contract tracing if they happened to somehow contract the virus.

The non-maskers enter a crowded venue and immediately accept the risk and responsibility of doing so. If they get sick they'll stay home and recover like they do with any other virus. If their symptoms get severe enough they'll seek medical treatment like they do with any other virus.

Personally, I would rather live with the anti-maskers any day of the week.

All it takes is one server in that restaurant to test positive and the entire restaurant gets closed down whether the employees are wearing masks or not, whether they are symptomatic or not. The maskers are putting those businesses in an impossible, no-win situation.

This has never happened with any other virus, just the Coronavirus and somehow we have survived as a society. We have just completely kicked all common sense out the window with this one. The "experts" have been so all over the place with their predictions and recommendations that it's laughable.

good for you!

Not the end of the world? Humans came very close to extinction in the ice age. The big asteroid that hit the earth wiped out lots of people. Grasshoppers are eating all the food crops in Africa. The Russian Army Commander recommended a 1st response toward the US. Gorby kept his cool because it was a faulty early warning radar with blips. Gorbachov prevented WWIII. How CLOSE was that? The CV added to Global Warming could push the world into apocalypse territory. I don't think so.....BUT........who really knows?

Dr's state that you cannot become infected from prepared food. (just don't eat Chinese food)

I'm a #4. But, it is nice to have the excuse for wearing a mask when carting someone around in my car that stinks (perfume of course).

Good point Mary! My niece, who is an RN, has been taking care of COVID 19 patients for months. From what she has described to me this virus is nothing they have ever seen. I will wear a mask to protect myself and others until it is safe to not do so. Gasping for breath until I die with no family present is something I would like to prevent for myself or anyone else. If our soldiers can fight the enemy it seems to me that wearing a mask isn't too much to ask as we fight COVID 19.

Yes, I have read about establishments closing down when an employee tests positive. Deep cleaning and sanitizing is done then the establishment can open back up again. The fact that a restaurant closes down to sanitize after an employee tests positive is a safety measure I am very glad is in place.

The strong possibility that a positive employee will not pass on the virus to restaurant patrons because the employee was wearing a mask is very comforting to me as a patron. Restaurant employees who are dealing with the unmasked public are more at risk and that is the difficult part of this issue. Any restaurant employee is there because they need to work, not because they are just looking for something to do. They put themselves at risk to earn a living. Sad but true.