Hacker News Reader

Comment by smcl | Hacker News Reader

> Willingness to do things by hand (such as sewing improvised masks in spring of 2020 at home).

This is good and bad. Nobody I know can recommend me a plumber because "we all know how to do that ourselves" - ironically the reason I need a plumber is because of a shoddy DIY job performed by previous owners of my flat :D

And as an aside - I was really sad when N95 and FFP2 masks were mandated. The psychological boost of everyone wearing their own lovely little custom masks together was really cool and bonding. They were the last connection to the early successful response to covid, when they were deprecated it seemed to be around the time where everyone just sort of gave up.

View on HN

> The psychological boost of everyone wearing their own lovely little custom masks together was really cool and bonding. They were the last connection to the early successful response to covid, when they were deprecated it seemed to be around the time where everyone just sort of gave up.

True. Now that I think of it, it was an interesting time when the masks were first mandated virtually overnight. Back then it was okay to wear a mask which was obviously made from a kitchen towel, then people gradually shifted towards wearing neatly-made ones.

Yeah that period was really something! I was among the first few hundred positive cases here, and ended up quarantined in my flat for six weeks due to some testing anomalies. The "masks everywhere" stuff started while I was indoors, and when I finally emerged it was totally surreal to walk around in streets which were empty other than a handful people in masks all with their own colours and patterns.

Yeah, it was crazy - when I finally ventured out on a sunny day during the first wave, there was hardly anyone on the otherwise crowded streets and main squares of Brno (second biggest city in CZ) and anyone left had a mask of some sort. Really surreal! :)

Shame it all went to hell when the next wave hit in autumn. #bestincovid again, just the other way around...

Yeah, the respirator mandate was basically a reaction to people not caring about using masks properly anymore, so the main effect - infected people with a mask of any kind being much less likely to infect others - could no longer be assured. So by mandating everyone to have a FFP2+ respirator it was less likely people will get infected when they encounter the next infected person without a mas or wearing one incorrectly/for show.

BTW, in practice it was ever only required indoors, many people flatly ignored it outside. Loopholes like "no need to wear a mask if you don't go closer than 2 meters to somebody did not help.

For sure was not a pleasant experience going out for a walk with an at risk family member who has not been vaccinated yet, to avoid all those inconsiderate potentially infected people getting too close.

We of course had masks but the did not...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com